Battered and Abused
by Cakes18
Summary: Bella escapes from her abusive, drug dealing boyfriend, and into the arms of wheelchair bound Edward. He takes her in, and helps her out. The only thing is, can she help him back? And what happens when he doesn't see her the way she see's him? E&B...Duh!
1. Meeting Bella

**Author's Note: **

**I finally changed the names people! You don't have to read over this chapter, all I did was change the names from "Marie" to "Bella". To all my new readers, Welcome! Hope you enjoy the journey! **

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer's character's, my storyline. Don't steal my story, mine is better anyway. Please do not translate!**

Bella was sitting at her usual spot by the bedroom window. As usual, she was staring out at the freedom and happiness that would never be hers. For years, she longed to get away from her abusive boy friend- well, if boyfriend is what you would call him. Andre was more of a possessive, abusive, wicked man, whom Bella was unfortunate enough to meet. She remembers the event of that fateful meeting, just like she did every single day.

_"Hello my lady." Purred a soft, tantalizing voice. Bella wasn't used to such forward attention from men, least of all the attractive ones._

"_Hello." She replied to the handsome stranger. Bella introduced herself, quite timidly, and then learned the name of her future "boyfriend". He swept her off her feet onto the dance floor of the bar, on that " fateful Thursday night of the 8th month just about two years ago, and at the time, it seemed like those fairytales she read when she was a little girl._

"_Come home with me." He whispered in her ear._

"_My mother wouldn't let me." She giggled._

"_Only for a few hours." He countered. "Only for a few hours. I'll take you home myself."_

_Being the gullible girl that she was, Bella very much obliged, and literally walked into a hell of a life._

It was really quite a pity that Bella's mother never taught her any common sense, You know, the basic rule to never go home with strangers, else she wouldn't have followed Andre and walked into her doom. Oh well, life goes on, And now, at the tender age of twenty, Bella didn't have anywhere to go. Her mother was dead, after Andre killed her because she attempted to run away from him, and she had no other family. The only "family" Bella had was Andre's drugs, and the occasional dead bodies that he would bring for her to get rid of. Speaking of dead bodies…

"Bella, where are you? I have something for you!"

"Her we go again" she thought.

Andre came up to her room, with the "daily special." As usual, it was Bella's job to dispose of the corpses that Andre created. Considering the fact that Andre was a drug dealer, Bella had grown used to this odd, gory job. It's a wonder that she remained sane and normal.

Andre pelted the bag directly at Bella. It hit her in the head, and then all several body parts burst out the bag and fell all over her. There was a hand, two left feet, some toes. It was incredibly disturbing and the last straw for Bella.

"Clean that up and get rid of it." Andre grunted.

Bella sighed, and went down on her knees. She then let out a more frustrated sigh, then a sob, and then a loud anguished cry, when she was sure that Andre was out of earshot.

"I can't take this damn shit anymore!" She cried. "I need to get out of this hellhole right now!" Bella ran to the bathroom and rinsed herself as quickly as she could. With the adrenaline rush she had, she was able to back a small bag of clothes, with a few toiletries. She grabbed a stash of Andre's most treasured coke. She'd figure out what she'd do with it later, but for now, she saw it as source of money.

Climbing out of the same window she once looked out of for the past two years, Bella took a final glance at her prison, and jumped out onto the ledge. Thankfully, the persons on Dredge Street weren't particularly nosy, so she was able to walk a safer surface unnoticed. Once she was out of the apartment safely, and seemingly unnoticed by Andre, Bella used all her strength to run as far as she could. She had no idea where she was going, but she ran anyway.

When she thought she was far away enough, Bella dropped into a store. Unfortunately she was unaware that she was in the store of Andre's supplier. He noticed her though, and stared quite questionably at her. He watched at the fright in her eyes, and a wicked thought loomed in his mind.

"_Either I take her ass back to Andre, or I take her for myself. She is pretty gorgeous."_

Guess which one he decided on? He walked toward her, in a movement to make her believe that he was going to ask if she needed any assistance. She raised her eyes to his, and a moment of familiarity passed between them. Her eyes opened wide, and she screamed. Loudly.

"Aghhhhhhhh! It's him! It's that drug guy! Bella ran out of the store just as fast as she ran out of Andre's apartment.

"You better come back here!" he shouted. "Andre's gonna come looking for you and he'll beat the hell outta you when he finds you! You're safer with me senorita!"

Bella ignored all the jibes he made at her, and his threats of telling Andre where she was. She ignored being called a "nasty worthless whore", and an "ugly motherless dog" and just continued running. She saw a Police Station, and on a quick act of smartness, decided to go in, to get Andre in trouble. She went up to the man at the front desk.

"Good morning sir." The man barely looked up from his book.

"Yes ma'am, how may I assist you?" He replied.

"I um, I have some intelligence about a man. He uh, he sells drugs…and stuff."

The officer just looked at her questioningly. She was looking like a hot disheveled mess anyway.

"If you have any information about a criminal, you're gonna need to fill out this form. If you wish anonymous, then don't sign your name." He answered a monotone.

"Okay, well what if I want to give you some of the drugs he has now?"

"Look, if you give me those drugs, you'll be named a hero and all that stuff and the person you took those drugs from will come after you, or, you can be arrested for the possession of drugs. So, between you and me, just fill out the form anonymously, and take your drugs to some drug buyer." He took out a small square paper. "Go to this address, you should be able to get some good cash from the person."

With those words, the officer, the very obviously lazy, delinquent officer, went back to reading his book. Bella filled out the form silently, and left the Police Station, then made her way to the address that the oh so helpful police officer gave to her.

As she walked along the deserted street, Bella pondered what she would do, or better yet where she would go, once this whole mess was sorted out. She considered getting a job, but then what were her qualifications? She thought she could rent an apartment, far away enough from Andre, until he forgot about her. But then again, she wasn't even sure if she could've sold Andre's drugs without getting herself into more trouble. As she continued walking, Bella observed that the neighborhood gradually became more and more posh. The streets were cleaner, the houses were bigger, and there was absolutely no one outside.

"_I wondered if I'm in the correct place?" _She pondered.

She glanced down at the address in her hand.

"#21 Whale Head, Bristol Place. That's where I am…but it's so beautiful!"

She counted the numbers on the houses.

"19, 20, ah! 21!"

She stared at the house for a while. It was by far the biggest she had seen on the street, and the most impressive.

A wooden three-story house, painted in a delightful shade of khaki, with white inserts here and there. It was built on a large perfectly mowed green lawn, and enclosed by a low brown wall. She didn't even want to begin to imagine how anyone could afford such a house, but instead, she opened the gate, walked across, gingerly, to the front door. She paused, for a moment before she rang the doorbell. There was a loud thump inside the house, followed by silence, then footsteps.

A young girl, who looked about seventeen years old, swung open the door. Her facial expression changed dramatically, as she sized up Bella. Then, very subtly, she shrank back behind the door, and closed it in slightly so that only her face was exposed.

"Can I help you?" She said dryly

"Um, hello, my name is Bella. A police officer sent me here, to this address, to, you know, sell something."

"Sell what?" The girl retorted

"You know," Bella couldn't believe she was going to say this but she went on anyway. "To sell some drugs."

"What!" the girl screamed. "Are you mental? This isn't the kind of neighborhood for that; you go somewhere else before I call the police."

With that the door was slammed in Bella's face.

Bella was definitely confused. She couldn't understand it. The police officer directed her to this address for goodness sake. Sure, she was locked up indoors for almost three years, but she still remembered her surroundings, and her country. She walked into the street, feeling completely helpless, partly due to the fact that she had no money, but also because she was hungry, tired, and she knew she had no where to sleep.

"Hey there! Wait a minute!"

A familiar voice called out to Bella. She spun around, and was quite taken aback. It was the girl from the house. Bella wondered what she wanted, and feared that maybe she would've threatened her.

"I just spoke to my brother; he thinks you should come inside."

Bella stared at her incredulously for a moment, not moving from her spot.

"Yeah, I don't want you to come in either, I didn't even want to come call you but my brother gave me one hundred dollars to do it."

She motioned for Bella to follow her, and walked briskly indoors.

"Hurry up! She hissed to Bella. "I don't want anyone to see you. And by the way, my brother is in a wheelchair, so do me a favor and don't stare."

Bella nodded somberly, not saying a word, but just following the young girl indoors.

The interior of the house was impressive. Bella tried not to linger too much on the expensive looking items, but her gaze settled particularly on a portrait of a handsome young man. She gazed into his still lifeless blue eyes, trying to comprehend why he looked so sad. His mouth wore a pout, and his forehead was creased. His head consisted of a thick mop of black hair, and was combed back neatly.

"That's my brother, when he wasn't paralyzed"

A sad voice whispered behind her.

"What's your name by the way? My name's Alice."

Bella looked at Alice, before answering her.

"I'm Bella, and I don't want to impose on you for too long so if your brother could just come I'll be on my way. I really don't want to be a bother to the both of you. It's just that I stole these from my boyfriend, and I just want to get away from him and-"

"I didn't ask you all that!" Alice cut her off. "I was told to bring you inside, get you cleaned up, and ask you to wait. Follow me, the bathroom is this way."

Bella followed the stranger like an obedient little lamb, with nothing to do but hope and trust that everything would be alright.

**Review! Better stuff to come!**


	2. Meeting Emmett

**Once again, I changed a few things in this chapter, you don't have to read it over. XOXO**

**Disclaimer- I do not own any of Stephanie Meyer's characters, but the storyline and the additional characters are all mine. Plagiarism will not be tolerated, that is illegal. **

"Why would I need to use the bathroom?" Bella asked.

"Look Bella, I'll be frank with you. My brother is a bit of a neat freak, never mind the fact that he's in a wheelchair. He's extremely shallow and all about appearances. What's worse is that you look terrible and you smell like a wet dog. A fresh shower and some clean clothes is what you need."

Alice turned on her feet and walked up a corridor, motioning for Bella to follow. Bella was lost in all the beautiful pictures that hung on the wall, and one of them particularly stood out to her.

It was a painting of a city, at night, with all the bright lights on the cars and building beautifully translated onto the paper. The painting reminded her of her home, and the life she had before Andre. Alice came to a stop in front of a brown door. She opened it, stepped inside, and beckoned for Bella to do the same.

"I'll bring a towel for you now. There are some shampoos, conditioners and soaps in the cabinet, please don't hesitate to use it. I can bring you some of my old clothes to wear when-"

"No thank you" Bella cut her off. "I have some clothes of my own that I packed. They're in my bag."

Alice watched her up and down, almost as if she were crazy.

"What part of _my brother is a neat freak _did you not comprehend! You have to wear what I give you, first impressions mean a lot to my brother!"

Bella eyed Alice carefully, before she reluctantly nodded her head. She closed the bathroom door, and took a moment to soak in her surroundings. The bathroom smelled amazing, like cinnamon and vanilla. It had a simple décor, with sky blue walls, and a light brown ceiling. It reminded her of the sea. Bella remembered the last time she had ever been to the ocean, and she was merely five years old. The beach and the ocean always comforted Bella.

Everything about that bathroom soothed Bella. The light, refreshing scent, the earthy colors, and the stream of light through the windows, put her completely at ease.

Bella stepped into the shower, and turned on the tap, allowing the delicious warm water to flow over her dirty, grimy body. She massaged her scars and bruises, then used the wash cloth Alice gave her to soap her skin.

She selected a cucumber-scented shampoo from the cabinet and scrubbed her hair. She literally scrubbed it. After turning off the tap, she peaked outside the shower to see if Alice left her the towel. She did, along with a new deodorant, St. Ives body cream, and a green body splash.

She wrapped herself in the towel, and walked towards the clothes that Alice laid on the table near the sink. An old pair of jeans, about her size, and a simple white T-shirt, and yet they both looked far more expensive than anything she ever owned.

Bella swiftly dressed herself, using all the supplies Alice left for her. A lilac brush, a scrunchie for her hair, and a pair of diamond studs! She vowed to return the earrings before she left the house.

She put on a small amount of the body splash, which had a similar scent to the shampoo, and the soap. Bella didn't bother drying her hair, so she left the blow dryer where it was. She opened the bathroom door and proceeded to find Alice.

She found Alice in the same place she was before, the living room, or foyer, or whatever it was that they called it. Alice's back was turned, and she seemed to be talking to someone. Bella couldn't see anyone, so she was startled when she heard a male voice.

"It's only for a few weeks Alice, just until she can get off her feet." The soft voice said "Its not like you're not used to this anyway, we've shared our house with strangers before."

There was a forceful tone in the man's voice, but it wasn't angry. Bella continued to listen to their conversation.

"I never had a problem, because the "strangers" were very cute BOYS that were conveniently my age! And what do you think mom and dad will say, when they've discovered that you brought an old druggie to "rehabilitate" They are not going to like that one bit!"

"Alice- " The voice began. But she continued ranting.

"How do you think I'm going to feel bringing my friends around here! They're starting to think this is a freaking orphanage!"

"Alice!" The voice shouted now. Then more quietly he said, so Bella wouldn't hear,

"She's right behind you."

Alice spun around and stared at Bella. She dug into her pocket, looking for something, and eventually fished out a hundred dollar bill, which she flung at the person in front of her.

"You can have this back Edward, I rather wait for my allowance than be nice to that freak anymore."

Alice glared at Bella as she walked away, but Bella barely noticed. She was too taken aback by the person sitting before her.

Bella's eyes locked with a pool of blue. His thick black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, which ended at the nape of his neck. His lips were deliciously red, or maybe it was dark pink, but not in a feminine looking way.

She assumed this was Edward, after remembering the descriptions Alice gave to her.

"_My brother's in a wheelchair, so don't stare"_

Bella remembered staring at the blue- eyed portrait.

"_That's my brother before he got into the wheelchair."_

Bella's hazel brown eyes bore into Edward's soft, twinkling blue ones. His eyes crinkled at the corners, as he was smiling. He cleared his throat, and Bella's eyes snapped away. Not long after, she blushed.

"I'm Edward. You must be Bella, of course."

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you, but I just want to give you what I have to give you and then be on my way."

Edward stared at her incredulously for a moment, before he laughed.

"You're not going anywhere Bella! I told David, the officer you spoke to before you got here, to recommend anyone he saw fitting, to me. I know. It sounds crazy. Imagine me, a guy in a wheelchair, bringing complete strangers and potential psychopaths into my big awesome home. Well, here you are. I won't let you go off on your own until I fix you into an educated, well rounded woman."

Bella stared at him blankly, unable to move. The only thing going through her mind was that she wasn't going to be trapped again. She'd had enough of it, and quite frankly, she ran away so she could obtain freedom.

"No, no, no, no, no! I ran away, so that I wouldn't be trapped anymore. What if he finds me here? He could kill you and your family, and then take me back. I just want you to buy the drugs, so I can leave. Please!"

Edward watched her intently for a moment. He knew for a fact that who ever Bella was running from was probably dead by now. After Bella went to David, David probably got right up and went to track down the bastard.

He smiled at Bella. He actually almost laughed, because she looked like she was prepared to run away. He may have been in a wheelchair, but he was also very quick.

"You don't have to worry about _him_, he's been taken care of, believe me. I also have no intention of purchasing any drugs, so feel free to dispose of it in the garbage bin in the kitchen. You live with Alice and I now, so please co-operate, I just want what's best for you."

When she didn't answer, Edward continued.

"You must be hungry, let's get you something to eat. Follow me."

Edward wheeled himself past Bella, and she assumed he was going to the kitchen. She was still suspicious, and skeptical about this arrangement, but she was starving, her last meal being two days ago.

Coming to think of it, Bella was surprised that she stayed so strong for such a long period of time. She wondered how far it was that she walked.

When she found Edward, he was in the kitchen, in front of the refrigerator. He hadn't seen her yet, and he was still fishing things out of the drawer. When he was finished, he wheeled his way over to the stove, where there was already a lit stove and a frying pan.

"Feel free to have a seat; I'm just going to whip up something for you quickly"

Bella waked over to a white stool, and sat down on it, and just decided to look at Edward. She was overwhelmed by the kindness, and openheartedness of this stranger, and she never felt so loved or so cared for in her life, even when her mother was alive.

Bella silently said a prayer, thanking God for the breakthrough she had received, and she promised herself that she wouldn't take it for granted.

Edward wheeled over to her with a round white plate, with a gold rim, and a tall blue glass. He filled the glass with some apple juice from the refrigerator, and then scooped out the meal from the pan.

"Okay," Edward said. "While you eat, I'd like to tell you why you're here, and what I plan to do with you."

Bella stared at Edward, with a look that said "_What the…"_ , but she said nothing.

She just looked back down at her food, and continued to eat.

Edward looked like he was about to say something else, but he was interrupted by a loud banging on the front door.

" Police! Open this door!"

Bella jumped at the sound of the knocking door. She looked at Edward and her facial expression said that she wanted to run.

Edward motioned to her with his hand to go into another room. She did as she was told, and ran into the bathroom which she used earlier.

Bella presses herself against the door to see if she could hear anything, but to no avail. She heard absolutely nothing.

Bella decided that if anything happened to this family, because of her presence, she would never forgive herself.

Meanwhile, Edward already knew who was at the door. He recognized the voice of his big brother Emmett the moment he shouted "Police!"

He told Bella to go hide, because he wasn't ready to let Bella meet any of his family just yet. Bella meeting Alice was inevitable, but he needed to groom Bella for a long time before she had a hope in meeting his family.

Edward thought about what he said, and how it might've sounded if he'd said it out loud.

It may have been a pompous thing to say, but it was the truth, and he never held back the truth, even in his thoughts.

Emmett opened the door, and said,

"You know better than to open the door for the police Edward!"

Edward rolled his eyes, and retorted,

"Please Emmett; your loud voice was a freaking giveaway. Come on in, I was just thinking about you."

Emmett entered the house, looking around as he always did when he came by Edward. He was looking for changes, the changes that Edward always made when a new "guest" arrived.

Emmett knew about Edward's little rehabilitation "business", which he had going on for about one year.

Ever since the accident, all Edward ever did was try to help troubled youths, and persons his age.

Fortunately for Bella, Emmett didn't notice anything; after all, Bella had only arrived that morning. Emmett made his way to the kitchen, and found a wonderful piece of evidence.

There was a pair of dirty and worn shoes in the garbage bin. It obviously belonged to a girl. It could not have possibly belonged to Alice, so that only left one other explanation. He was about to go ask Edward about it when he heard his sister's voice.

"Emmett!" Alice shouted. "I am so happy to see you. I don't know what's gotten into Edward. He's doing it again!"

"What are you talking about Alice? He seemed fine to me."

"He's up to his orphanage crap again, only this time he took it too far. This girl came to our house this morning and-"

Alice stopped talking. Edward was behind Emmett, and focused his most threatening glare towards her.

Alice knew what the glare meant, and she wasn't willing to risk shopping, over something that Emmett could've figured out for himself.

"Never mind" Alice said. "I'll be up in my room. Let me know when you're leaving"

"I would appreciate it Emmett if you would stay out of my personal business" Edward said menacingly.

"Alice is my sister too." Emmett retorted. "Her concerns concern me as well."

"This is my house, and I am the guardian of Alice. You come over here whenever you feel like, without calling me, and then you try to dictate my business. I do not appreciate it."

Emmett and Edward glared at each other. At that moment, no one would have guessed that they were family, much less brothers.

"Alright then, you're right. Sorry man." Emmett looked at Edward apologetically, and Edward nodded.

"Are you hungry?" Edward asked.

"Nah, Rose and I are meeting for lunch later. Where's Alice, I want to tell her I'm leaving."

Edward chuckled.

"You just came, and yet leaving so soon. Typical you Emmett."

Emmett grinned. Edward nodded his head upstairs, motioning for Emmett to go to Alice's room to tell her goodbye.

"Hey Edward." Emmett paused. "How's therapy going?"

"It's coming along, Thanks for asking."

The look exchanged between the brothers, showed that the quarrel they had shared earlier was forgiven.

Emmett ran up to Alice's room, leaving Edward up to his own devices.

Edward wheeled over to his room, which was on the ground floor. He thought of Bella, and wondered what he could do to restore her to the level of a well educated young woman.

He knew it would be difficult. Bella looked like she had a hard shell to break through.

He would have to ask her about her family life, her childhood, and how she lived after she was practically kidnapped.

He had hoped to get her to a psychiatrist as well. Time would tell what Bella needed. He hoped that Alice would grow to be accepting of Bella, because he could not help Bella without her assistance.

Edward saw a light radiating off Bella, he didn't know what it was that caused it, but he knew in his heart that he did not want to give up on her. He would have to put up a tough exterior, but it would not last too long, once she cooperated.

He pushed Bella out of his thoughts for a while, deciding that he needed to sleep on it, and focused doing his daily exercise.

Emmett's and Rosalie's wedding was in December, eleven months away, and Edward wanted to be able to stand proudly, as the best man, next to his big brother.

He decided to start with the leg-ups. His legs were not completely paralyzed, as people often assumed. He had come a long way since his accident two years ago. He smiled contentedly at his progress, and continued with his exercise.

Emmett was on his way to Alice's room, when he heard a sound coming from the guest bathroom. He peered inside the almost closed door, and saw the most fragile, broken, scared young woman he had ever seen.

Bella sensed his presence, and looked up to meet Emmett's eyes. She stifled a cry, afraid that the big burly man with enormous muscles, and pretty, curly hair, had come to take her away. She pleaded with her eyes that she be left alone; she couldn't bear to return to Andre.

Emmett seemed to sense her fear, so he forced his shocked eyes to soften, to show Bella that he had meant no harm. He stood by the door frame, unmoving, and spoke the first words.

"Hey there, I'm Edward's brother, Emmett. I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to scare you."

Emmett was completely stunned when Bella replied; he was shocked that she even spoke to say the least.

"My name's Bella" Bella said in a soft voice.

Emmett came to a conclusion the moment he had heard Bella's voice. She was perfectly harmless. Her soft, gentile nature was probably what Edward and Alice needed in their lives. He knew it was probably too early to make such an assumption, but he was good at reading people.

Edward did in fact bring another lost person into his home, to help them. Edward had a big heart, although tough at times, and he needed someone to break the tough exterior.

Edward had been lonely enough, and the only friends he ever had, used him, led him astray and kept him away from his family. He would even go as far as saying that they were partly to blame for his being in a wheelchair.

Bella's eyes held nothing but softness.

Emmett nodded at Bella one last time, before he closed the door, and went to find Alice.

Alice was locked in her room, with headphones in her ears. She was listening to her favorite song, "Victoire", by a famous French singer Shy'm.

_Personne ne pourra me dire_

_Qu'on vit de rêves et d'ambitions _

_Les jeunes ont perdu des sourires_

_Désespoir tue l'inspiration_

_Faut pas s'laisser allez, la vie est trop court _

_Ne jamais abandonner faut garder sa route. _

Alice was interrupted by a loud knock on her door. She assumed it was Emmett, he never stayed long anyway.

Alice got off the bed to open the door for him.

When she opened the door, Emmett instantly engulfed her in a big hug.

"Don't worry little sister, Bella seems really nice. I think you'll like her."

Alice stepped back.

"What!" She shouted. "Do you know what she is!" Alice continued to screech.

"I don't want to know" Emmett replied calmly. "Just give her a chance, try to be her friend."

"..years." Alice replied. "She does not have the upbringing of a friend for anyone, let alone me!"

Emmett shrugged casually.

"You know I have a sixth sense for these things Alice. Look at you and Jasper. A young thug turned your _forever after"_

Alice couldn't help but giggle. This was true. She and Jasper were together for a little over one year, much to the disdain of her family, especially Edward.

"Just trust Edward on this, he usually makes wise decisions."

Alice sighed heavily, showing that she had caved, and Emmett grinned, moving towards her to ruffle her hair.

"Emmett are you mental! Don't touch my hair when it looks good! You know that!"

"Are you saying I should never touch your hair Alice?" Emmet laughed.

"That, my friend is a compliment!" Alice smirked.

"Well, I have to go meet Rosalie now so, I'll see you soon. Why don't you come over this weekend?"

"I can't. I have exams. Edward doesn't really let me go anywhere when I have to study. It works out though, because I always do really well."

"Edward has you on such a tight leash. Geez, he could at least let you visit me once in a while."

Alice smiled sadly.

"He has his reasons Emmett, so take it easy on him, please. He just doesn't want me to go down the same road he went down. It's like he's making it his personal mission to ensure that I don't turn out like him."

Emmett cringed. He wished he had shut up, because it seemed that he had really hurt Alice's feelings. He gave Alice one last hug, before he left, and poked in Edward's room to let him know he was leaving.

Edward smiled up at him, at told him to drive safely. He had heard Alice screaming at him about Bella, and about him.

Emmett met Bella, knew absolutely nothing about her, and yet he defended her. He must have seen something good in those beautiful, warm, brown eyes of hers. After Emmett left, Edward wheeled over to the bathroom, to tell Bella she could come out. She looked relived, and gave Edward a small smile, to let him know that she was willing to accept his help.

**A/N: Hey guys, I am in the process of editing some of the earlier chapters if you haven't noticed. Feel free to read them over if you'd like. I made a few changes. **

**Ciao**

**Cakes**


	3. Chit Chat Time!

**Author's Note: So, thanks to the wonderful review I received from 4ever, I decided to write a new chapter immediately after reading it! This chapter is for u, 4ever, because you were the first to review! Enjoy my precious fans! **

Alice woke up for school promptly at seven am, as she did each morning. She needed to do her hair, paint her nails, put on some light make-up, and she only had one hour to do it. Alice's school required her to wear a uniform, which consisted of a black pleated skirt, which she altered to reach her knees, a white shirt, and a blue tie.

She rolled out of bed, and practically crawled to her bathroom. She was really sleepy and exhausted this morning. She thought about her weekend. Instead of spending it hanging out with her girls, she was forced to babysit Bella.

She didn't literally babysit her, but she did have to help Edward out. Alice was momentarily angry with the persons that caused Edwards accident. He seemed so determined to walk again, and often joked that he would be able to walk by the time Emmett's wedding rolled around.

She remembered the night when she learnt of it. She was fifteen years old, and she was spending some time at her friend's house. She was just about to fall asleep, when Mrs. Stanley came to wake her up.

"_Alice honey, wake up. I'm afraid I have some unfortunate news for you." _

_Alice sat up instantly, and her thoughts immediately wandered to her parents, whom she knew travelled regularly. She thought about Rosalie and Emmett, and then, finally, her thoughts rested on Edward._

_Disobedient, rebellious, unhappy Edward. _

_Alice begged Mrs. John to take her to the hospital, she needed to see her brother one last time, to let him know that she loved him._

_Little did Alice know that God had plans for Edward. God had a plan that would turn his life around, and give it purpose._

_Alice arrived at the hospital, and met Emmett and Rosalie, who were laughing with a doctor. As usual, Carlisle and Esme were absent._

_She wondered, angrily, why Emmett and Rose were laughing, when they should be spending time with Edward. _

_Rosalie saw Alice's expression and stopped smiling instantly. She walked over to Alice, looking as beautiful as ever, in her purple ballet flats, and black cotton dress._

_Alice never admitted it, but she admired Rose's style, from the day she met her when she was twelve, and formed her personal style from her. _

_Rosalie engulfed her in a hug, despite Alice's protests._

"_He's in stable condition Ali." Rosalie assured her. "The only problem is that he may not be able to walk."_

"_Can I go see him?" She whispered. "I just need to see him, please."_

_Rosalie hesitated for a moment, then strode over to the doctor, who was talking to a completely oblivious Emmett. She whispered a few words to the doctor, which caused Emmett to look up and see none other than Alice, glaring at him. _

_Rosalie nodded at Alice and the doctor beckoned her to follow him. The moment Alice saw Edward resting comfortably on that hospital bed, was the moment she realized she believed in God. _

After her shower, Alice sat down in front of her vanity mirror to do her hair. There wasn't much she could do with it, her hair was pretty short. She just put a few curls at the end to give it a slight bounce.

After doing her hair and makeup and just about everything she could have possibly squeezed into one hour, Alice went downstairs to meet Edward. She walked straight past Bella's room, not particularly caring whether she was awake or not. She met Edward in the kitchen.

He was preparing breakfast, her favorite meal in the world- sliced ham, scrambled eggs , with homemade bread, and a fruit salad. Alice often marveled at the way Edward was able to do regular tasks, while being in his wheelchair.

He had come such a long way. Alice, however, didn't know just how strong her brother's will power was. That was probably why she could never understand Edward's reasoning for helping all the people he did.

She couldn't complain too much though. She got Jasper out of it.

Perhaps Edward had wanted Alice to get another friend through Bella. Alice remembered Emmett's words, but she was biased, and stubborn, and she did not want to concede. She did not want to befriend Bella, at all.

"Hey there Alice!" Edward said cheerfully. "Sorry, I didn't mean to break you out of your reverie."

"That's okay" Alice replied. "I was just buried in thought."

Edward nodded at her and chuckled. He was in such a great mood this morning. He had gone to church the previous day, sans Alice of course, and he learnt that no one was responsible for the way he feels, but himself.

He was responsible for his own joy, his sadness, his anger, his irritability. If he wanted to eliminate these feelings, then he would have to process his energy differently. Edward decided that he couldn't help Bella with the same attitude he helped others with.

He would need to be gentle, kind and friendly, to repair her broken spirit.

He wanted to be a better guardian for Alice, hence the reason he prepared Alice's favorite breakfast. It was also his way of thanking her for helping him get Bella settled.

He usually ignored Alice, giving her money when she asked, making breakfast and lunch, keeping the house clean.

Edward came to a realization as he sat at the kitchen counter slicing bread. Alice deserved better, because she was the one to stand by his side through thick and thin.

"Hey Alice," Edward started.

"Hmmm?" She answered, barely looking up from her magazine.

"I love you, and I appreciate you so much. Thanks for everything you've done in the past. I know I've been a bit of a jerk."

Alice blinked, because she wasn't sure if it was an apology she had heard coming out of Edward mouth. She stopped chewing, she stopped reading, but thankfully, she didn't stop breathing. Finally, after a long thirty seconds, Alice smiled, walked over to her brother and gave him a big hug.

She didn't reply, her hug said everything.

After hugging Edward, she stuffed the remainder of her breakfast into her mouth, put her fruit salad in a bowl, and walked out the door to meet a waiting Jasper.

Edward covered the table which he laid the breakfast on with a clean cloth, and proceeded to wake up Bella. Today was the day that they were to sit down for a little chat.

Edward wheeled up the corridor in anticipation. He was excited to begin yet another project, to help another person. He opened the door, and was surprised to see Bella awake. She saw him as well, and looked as though she was afraid to be seen awake.

Edward smiled again wheeled into the room.

"Good morning. Breakfast is ready, so if you don't mind, feel free to have a shower and freshen up before you come to the table. Actually, I'd prefer if you did."

Bella inwardly cringed at the meaning behind his words, while Edward wanted to kick himself.

"_Positive energy"_ He reminded himself.

He left Bella to her own devices, and went to his room to prepare himself for their "interview".

He had a small contract, which gave him the right to do what he deemed necessary to help her, just to ensure that he would not be sued later on.

After gathering a few basic questionnaires for Bella to fill out, he decided to do some more of his exercises.

He was beginning to get some feeling in his feet, and legs, and tried to stand up on them. He held on to the beam, and eased himself upward.

Edward let out a long hiss the moment his feet touched the ground.

"Dammit!" He cursed. He did this again five more times, before the pain became too unbearable. He just sat in his wheelchair, cooling off after working up quite a sweat.

"If I do this everyday, I'll be in top shape for the wedding." He said to himself.

He turned himself to face the window, and just looked outside for the next half hour.

Bella showered in the bathroom contentedly. She was a bit put off by Edward's statement, but she didn't want to be rude or disrespectful. This was his house, and he was liable to throw her out whenever he wanted.

She often wondered what had possessed Edward to take her in. Bella was a dirty, disheveled, abused girl, and apparent druggie, according to Alice.

Bella had no problem with Alice disliking her. She had every reason to, based on what she had heard her say to Edward.

She had resolved to take everything in stride, and to accept everything that they both had to offer her.

She was determined to leave the house educated and wise, happy and repaired.

After showering, Bella walked back to her room to dress. She looked at the array of clothes that Alice had placed in the closet over the weekend.

Much to her relief, Alice took back the earrings, and replaced them with simple silver studs.

She decided on a blue and white sailor dress, and black flip flops. Bella towel dried her hair, and braided it.

She applied some flesh colored lip gloss, just as Alice had instructed her.

She checked herself in the mirror, and frowned. Her skin was marked and bruised from the constant abuse she had received from Andre, she couldn't really cover it up, reason being it was a bit warm, and she couldn't bear to wear long sleeves.

She walked out of the room, ensuring that she closed the door, and went over to the breakfast table.

Edward wasn't there yet, so she didn't want to do anything. She just sat down and waited, and waited, and waited.

Two hours later, Edward came out with a stack of papers in his lap.

The moment he saw Bella sitting at the table, with the breakfast covered and untouched, he turned red. He wanted to shout at Bella, for not eating, for sitting at the table silently, starving herself, but thought better of it.

She probably wanted to wait for him, or was afraid of what he might do if she didn't wait.

_Stupid, insecure girl. _

"Bella, please eat something, I didn't realize you be stu- I mean considerate enough to wait for me. I already ate, so the balance is for you."

Bella bit back tears. She knew he was going to call her stupid, and indeed, she felt stupid. She had waited for _two hours, _breakfast got cold, and yet she didn't eat, although Edward told her to.

Edward pulled up to the table, and removed the cloth.

"Dig in." He said. "I can't reheat it; well I shouldn't, because you wouldn't enjoy it as much."

Once again, Bella was taken aback by the lavish meal before her. Usually, it was stale cereal and spoilt milk. She often fell ill by food poisoning, so her body became slightly immune to it.

She smiled at Edward gratefully, and said her first words for the morning.

"Thank you Edward, for everything."

He smiled back at her, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Don't thank me yet, you didn't expect me to let you starve did you?"

Bella said nothing, instead averting her gaze, and forking out a heaping plate of eggs and ham. Edward watched in shock and amusement as she put four slices of bread onto her plate.

Once she began eating, he relaxed, and decided to start his questioning.

"So, Bella, how are you this morning?"

Bella looked up from her breakfast, and nodded.

"That's not an answer." Edward warned.

"I'm happy, thank you for asking."

Edward suppressed a chuckle.

"You don't have to be so formal. This isn't a job interview; I just need to get to know you."

"What do you need to know?"

"Everything." Edward replied simply. "I'll ask the questions though."

Edward continued his questioning.

"What's your full name?"

"Isabella Marie Swan."

"Date of birth?"

"Twelfth of October."

"Level of education?"

"I graduated from high school; I was in the honors classes." Bella said this with pride.

Edward's interest was peaked. He didn't imagine Bella to be intelligent. Intelligent girls didn't get trapped by abusive drug dealers.

He asked about her parents, and gave his condolences when he learnt that her mother was murdered, and her father pretty much disappeared after a while.

She told him about the night she met Andre, and listened to him when he scolded her for her foolish mistake. He found out about the trauma she went through everyday with Andre, and he sympathized, grateful that he was now dead.

He allowed Bella to speak on her on her own. His work was going to be much easier. Bella wasn't an idiot after all.

She was just a young woman, who had a wonderful future planned, and got lost along the way. After talking to her, he realized that the conversation kept diverting to education, and he resolved to get Bella back into school.

Edward was pleased with the progress they had made, and excused himself to go do some exercises. He left Bella up to her own devices, letting watch television, or listen to music, or read a book. Bella opted to read _Where the Heart Is_, and thanked Edward for lending her Alice's book.

He wheeled into his room, and she walked into hers, content and satisfied that she was brave enough to run away from Andre.

**A/N- Hope you liked it. Reviews are welcome. ^_^**


	4. Mamma Mia and a little Drama

**A/N: Hello my avid readers! Once again, I apologize for taking so long to update. I am just very busy, and I will continue to be until June. SIGHHHH!!! Anyway, I worked pretty hard on this chapter to make it just right, for you guys. ENJOY MY PRETTIES!!!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!**

**PS- I DON'T OWN TWILIGHT, AND I'M GLAD I DON'T, BUT I DO OWN THIS STORY LINE, PEACE!**

Bella sat in her room late on Friday night, reading one of the books Edward had lent her. She decided to challenge herself by reading a novel in French. _L'Etranger _was the name of it.

She was absolutely fascinated by Albert Camus character, Meursault, who lived his life as he pleased, not particularly caring for how others around him felt.

At the start of the book, however, Bella really did not like the character. His mother had died, this was seen earlier in the book, and yet he seemed totally unfazed. Bella remembered how _devastated _she was when Andre murdered her mother.

The worst part was, he took pictures, and forced her to look at them.

_Bella was sitting in her room, when she heard the front door slam. She sighed softly. Andre was back. How exciting. He barged into her room without notice, and dragged her up by the roots of her hair. She winced softly, knowing that if she made a sound, Andre would see this as a reason to yank it harder. _

"_I have something to show you, but let me give you the good news first." Bella's stomach curdled at the sound of his voice. _

"_Today, while you were sitting your ugly, lazy behind in that musty old room, I went to see your mother. I told her that I knew where you were, and that if she'd like, I can make sure that you would get to see her. I asked her if she wanted you to see her, and she said yes, that she would do anything. So I shot her, and shot her, until my fully loaded gun ran out of bullets._

_Isn't that great? Now we can be together without having to worry about her trying to find you. Anyway, I took a few pictures, and had them printed so you can put them in your room."_

_The moment Bella saw that Andre was about to show her the pictures of Renee's mutilated body; she shut her eyes, tight. Andre was prepared for this as he grabbed her hair again and banged it against the table repeatedly. When he realized that she wasn't responding, he told her to open her eyes, before he killed her._

_Bella obliged, undoubtedly scared for her life. It was this way, that Andre shoved each picture into her face, watching mercilessly as tears streamed down her face._

_That was the last memory she had of her mother._

Tears pooled up in Bella's eyes as she remembered. She decided it was time to close the book; she'd had enough of Meursault for tonight. She checked her bedside clock. It was only 6:05, and she wasn't tired.

Alice wasn't there, and Edward went to have dinner with Emmett, and his girlfriend. She was still in the shock mode that Edward had opened his home to her. It had only been a week since she'd been there, and yet it felt like a month.

She had enjoyed talking with Edward during the week. They had kept their conversations simple, talking about music, their favorite singers, books, and food.

Bella walked into the kitchen, looking for something to eat. She was in the mood for Italian, and suddenly, awesome idea came into her mind. Since Edward had gone out to dinner, she didn't want to depend on him, especially since he might be tired.

She opened the cupboards in search of her most important ingredients like pasta and tomato sauce, oregano and basil. She checked the refrigerator for cheese, and was instantly blown away by the fully stocked fridge.

It had everything in it, from ketchup and grape juice, to rotisserie chicken and steak. She opened the bottom drawer to take out the cheese and then found some readymade meatballs in the deepfreeze.

After laying out all her ingredients before her, Bella got started. She cut up some garlic and onions and put them to sauté in hot olive oil. After this, she added some chopped tomatoes, and the tomato puree. She let it bubble up, before adding the salt, oregano, basil and meatballs.

She tasted the sauce and decided that it needed a little more garlic. She had already boiled the pasta while the meatballs were cooking, and she laid it out on a plate. She carefully poured the meatball sauce over the rotelle pasta. It smelled divine.

All she had to do was grate her cheese. She turned around, and was about to walk to the counter where the cheese was, when she was faced with the wrath of Alice.

"What are you doing, in _our _kitchen? Who told you could come in here anyway?"

Bella looked everywhere but at Alice. She found it so strange that she was so afraid of someone younger than her, Alice was 17 while she was 20, and even worse, Alice was half her size. Furthermore, she didn't understand why Alice hated her so much. She was civil when Edward was around, but as soon as he left the room, it was like a monster was unleashed.

"I asked you a question! Get the hell out of my kitchen!"

Bella looked into Alice's eyes this time. Her pretty blue eyes, with a hint of violent around the rims, was completely overcome with fury. Bella turned away, before any tears pooled up in her eyes. Thankfully, she was smart enough to pick up her meatball dish. Unfortunately, Alice had other plans.

She swatted the dish from Bella's hands, and it fell to the ground with a loud clang. The meal she worked so "hard" on was now spread on the floor.

Alice stepped over the red mess in her kitten heels, and stomped over to her room. Bella had turned around again to go look for some paper towels. She saw why Alice had left in such a rush.

Edward sat in his chair, with his eyes shut tight, rubbing circles on his temples. When he opened his eyes, Bella jumped. Edward's eyes had turned green.

It was a beautiful, watery, heart thumping, body melting shade of green. His gaze was piercing, and apologetic, he seemed totally oblivious to the fact that his blue eyes were now green.

"Bella I'm so-" Edward paused when he took in her facial expression. "What's wrong Bella?"

"Nothing." She replied. "But your eyes turned green, so I'm feeling a bit traumatized."

Edward laughed heartily, his strong shoulders shaking as he chuckled and shook his head in disbelief.

"I wear contacts; they make my eyes appear blue. I always take them out around Rosalie; she likes to see the real color."

Bella blushed slightly, looking like she wanted to say something. She started, then paused, then started again.

"I think you should leave off the contacts too. I mean, the green really complements your hair."

Edward smiled at the compliment, but he didn't blush like Bella had. He shook his head.

"I wanted to tell you how sorry I was for Alice's behavior. I don't know why she behaves like that when I'm not around. I really am sorry, for not coming back in time to make your dinner. Do you want to make it again, together?"

Bella answered with a smile. She proceeded to clean up the mess on the floor first. Edward watched her move around the kitchen, looking like she'd lived there for months, rather than one week.

He really needed to speak to Alice again. He was thinking about sending her to live with Emmett and Rosalie, if she didn't behave. His intention was to help Bella, and make her feel better about herself, not to scare her and reduce her to nothing.

That was exactly what Alice was doing. Edward knew he couldn't threaten Alice with sending her to Emmett, she would love that. He just knew that if she ever treated Bella that way again, she couldn't stay with them.

Edward wheeled over to the cupboard to take out more pasta, and the remaining ingredients.

"I bet my meatball sauce is better than yours" Edward teased. "You want to make a bet?"

"Non merci, je ne veux pas."

« Pourquoi ? » Edward said.

« J'ai peur, que tu est meilleur que moi ! »

Edward laughed again, amused at their short French conversation. As much as he liked to tease Bella, he had much preferred doing it in a language he understood.

Edward continued chopping up garlic, onions and tomatoes for the sauce, while Bella stood around idly. Bella was just itching to ask why Edward had become so independent, so willing to do everything on his own.

She had assumed that he did it to take care of his sister, just as he was supposed to, but then again, what did she know?

Edward had the kitchen smelling delightful in just under 20 minutes. He was right; his own was better than hers.

They sat at the table to eat Edward's meal. Edward watched Bella as her fork stabbed the food. Bella rolled her eyes in content and satisfaction. This action caused Edward to chuckle. Bella did not notice.

She continued to eat her dinner quite enthusiastically, not even bothering to look up. She continued to shove food into her mouth, until Edward finally cleared his throat.

Bella jumped up in surprise, and her eyes caught with Edward's.

She stopped breathing. All she could do was stare into the depths that were Edward's eyes. She couldn't fathom how he could prefer the blue contacts to his original green color. When she looked in her eyes, it reminded her of the days she spent at the sea with her mother, the one time she ever travelled.

When Bella was twelve years old, herself and Renee hopped on a plane to Tobago, an island in the Caribbean. The water was a clear aqua green, and she remembered thinking of mermaids when she first saw it. She did not want to leave Tobago; it was one of her fondest memories of her mother.

Tears formed in Bella's eyes once more. She dropped her fork, while still looking at Edward. She didn't notice when his brow creased with concern, or when he dropped his fork, and wheeled over to her side.

He didn't feel when he shook her, or hear when he asked if she was alright. She had totally spaced out. Edward moved Bella's limp body onto his lap, and wheeled over to her room.

He placed her on the bed, and then went back to the kitchen to get a glass of water, and the remainder of her food, to place it by her bed side.

Edward pulled the blanket over her body, her eyes now closed, and her face stained with tears. Edward proceeded to leave the room, when Bella's eyes shot open.

"Please don't go. I know I've only known you a week, but I think its time I told you my story."

"I don't want you to feel pressured Bella, just get some rest; we can talk in the morning."

"He murdered my mother you know, and he took pictures to show it to me. I could've barely recognized her."

That stopped Edward. He came to the conclusion that Bella needed to get it off her chest, he just didn't think he should be the one to hear it. He glimpsed at her face. She looked so pitiful, and sad. More tears were forming in her eyes.

What finally broke him was when she looked up at him; her watery eyes brimmed with sorrow. Edward looked at her long, returning her stare.

"Alright then, let's hear your story."

Meanwhile, Alice was in her room, fuming about Bella. She just couldn't stand her, she was so nice, didn't even bother to defend herself.

"_That rotten junkie she was with before probably broke her in half; no wonder she's such a total sissy. Well, if she continues to live here, I'll just break her into quarters. I just don't understand what Edward's deal with her is. I hate her, I absolutely hate her." _

Alice continued with her malicious thoughts as she filed her perfectly manicured nails. She called Jasper, to see if he was up for a little rendezvous. He answered on the first ring, and very eagerly agreed to come over.

Alice moved to her bedroom window to unlock it, and waited patiently for Jasper to arrive.

Alice looked out the window, and saw Jasper's green Audi TT Roadster. The engine was soft, so Edward couldn't hear it. Alice was thankful, because he would kill Jasper if he found out that he was sleeping with his little sister.

Jasper wasted no time in climbing up the wall and through the window. He jumped on Alice, gently, and threw her on the bed, and gave her urgent kisses on her lips. Alice responded half heartedly. When she asked Jasper to come over, she had just wanted to talk to him, and see him. She wasn't in the mood for sex.

Alice pushed Jasper off of her, and Jasper noticed her hesitation.

"What's the matter Alice?" Jasper asked. "Why did you call me over if I'm not going to get any action?"

Alice shoved Jasper off of her exasperatedly.

"Why don't you just leave you ass! I asked you to come here so we can talk. Ever since we had sex that's all you've ever wanted from me!"

Jasper had something to say too.

"Give me a break little Miss perfect. You know, you have a lot of nerve telling me this! If I remember clearly, YOU were the one that seduced me! From the moment I walked through that front door two years ago, you've been eyeing me."

Alice rolled her eyes. She seemed undeniably annoyed by Jasper's statement.

"Get over it Jazz, we've been together for over a year now, so don't play modest and innocent. You always think you know more than me!"

"WHAT! From the moment we've been together, all you've done was make me feel like a total loser."

"That's not true Jasper. " She retorted. "Even if I did, it was because I care about you."

"Bull-crap!" Jasper spat out. "You know what Miss Cullen; I've had enough for one night. Besides, you already gave me what I wanted. I'll see you around."

It was with those parting words that Jasper jumped through Alice's window, leaving her stunned and open mouthed.

She had been told off by the love of her life, and then he dumped her, coldly. Alice walked to her bed, and slumped down on it.

"_You already gave me what I wanted, I'll see you around." _

Alice was so incredibly shocked; her heart instantly began to ache. She tried to remember why Jasper had come over in the first place. She had called him over so she could talk to him about her concerns with-_ Bella._

Alice concluded that this was all Bella's fault, and she resolved to make her life an even bigger hell when she got her alone again.

Edward listened intently as Bella spoke to him. He heard about the day her father stalked out of the house, to the day her boyfriend broke up with her and left Bella in a state.

She told him how her mother had just given up on her, and began to play a less active role in her life. Bella said that although she was a responsible child, she'd still needed guidance.

To cut a long story short, Bella met Andre in a club when she was seventeen years old, after having a fight with her mother.

She was persuaded to go home with Andre, and basically, she'd been living in pain for the past two years.

Edward asked her, shyly of course, if he ever had sex with her, or tried anything intimate. She quickly responded no, that he had different "whores" for that.

She went on to explain all the horrible things Andre made her do, from running his "errands" for him to leaving her locked up in her room for two days without any food or water. Edward shuddered when she told him how hard she had to work to control her bladder.

Bella wasn't done yet. She still had to tell him about the time she almost got arrested, for peddling Andre's drugs.

The only time she had ever liked Andre was when he "rescued" her from the arrest. If you called paralyzing an innocent man a rescue.

Bella explained what finally caused her to leave for good. She talked about Andre throwing the bag of body parts at her for her to dispose of. She had been so traumatized.

She broke down into sobs again. She was so mad; she promised that she was not going to cry again.

The telephone outside rang, so Edward excused himself to go answer it. While she waited for Edward to return, she picked up her dinner on the table next to her.

It was cold, obviously, but she picked at it anyway. It still tasted okay, but she new she would have enjoyed it better if she had eaten it hot.

Bella was totally impressed with the way Edward had listened to her. She couldn't remind herself enough that they had only known each other for one week, so she was doubtful he would have listened to her.

She was very grateful, and decided to let Edward know it when he returned. She had really grown on him, in the past week; she had become fond of him, and he made her laugh so easily.

Bella had better be careful. She had a tendency to fall for people to quickly, and always ended up getting hurt. Besides, why on earth would Edward like her?

He was accomplished, intelligent, kind, and independent. He had made something of himself, and helped other people make a life for themselves, and then all of a sudden, out of the blue, she comes along, another charity case for him to deal with.

Bella always thought so poorly of herself, so this case was no different. She was convinced that after she had "healed" Edward would kick her out just like he did with the others. She wasn't special enough to be his friend anyway.

Bella's thoughts were cut short when Edward returned to the room. He looked uncomfortable, like if something was really bothering him.

"Hey Bella, would you be my girlfriend?"

**A/N: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! My first attempt at a cliff hanger! I absolutely refuse to publish another chapter unless I have fifteen reviews and more!!! So, like I said, I am busy with exams, but I would still love to hear feedback from you guys, you know, what you expect to happen, how you're liking it so far.….anyways goodbye for now, I hope you enjoyed it!!!**


	5. Explanation, well kinda

**Hey guys, it's been a while. Here is chapter six! Enjoy it now!**

Edward made his way to the living room to answer the telephone. Just as Bella began to cry, and she needed comforting, the phone rang. Whoever it was had pretty bad timing.

He answered the phone hesitantly, as he did not recognize the number on the caller-ID.

"Hello?" He said.

"Edward, hello, this is your father Carlisle."

Edward winced at his father's formal nature.

"Hey dad, how have you been?"

"I've been doing pretty good son. Your mother and I are working hard as usual."

Edward remembered his mother, his favorite parent.

"How is mom, I miss her so much."

"She's great, like I said

Edward nodded his head, forgetting that his father could not see him.

"Are you still there? I wanted to tell you that your mother and I are dropping by for a visit. It was Esme's idea though; she really wanted to see you."

Edward's hand froze on the phone he was holding. If his parents came here, they would have to meet Bella. Nothing was wrong with that, really. He could easily pass her off as Alice's friend. The only problem was that Alice hated Bella, and she would never agree to something like that.

"Edward, Edward! Did you hear what I said?"

"Yes dad. You and mom are coming here for a visit. So when should I expect you to come over then?"

"In about two week's time. We already booked the flight, but we still have some other friends we want to visit before we make our final stop."

Carlisle paused.

"I've really missed you son, and I can't wait to see you and Alice. She must have grown quite a lot hasn't she? I'll talk to you soon. Goodbye."

Edward didn't get a chance to reply, because Carlisle hung up quite abruptly. He put down the phone and tried desperately to come up with an idea to hide the truth about Bella.

He would need to think of something quickly. Bella could not be in this house when Esme and Carlisle arrived. They were very old fashioned, and had secretly made an agreement with Edward that he didn't bring in random people to his home anymore.

Despite their fairly kind nature, Esme and Carlisle could hurt Bella by their disapproving looks alone. Fortunately, they weren't as bad as Alice.

Alice! Edward had forgotten about her again. If Edward came up with another idea for Bella, Alice would rat him out in a second. Damn Alice and her insecurities.

Edward did not want Bella to stay by anyone else. She was only just learning to trust him. She most certainly couldn't stay hidden away in a room either.

He may have had one week or so to decide, but he still needed to think quickly. Perhaps, and this was just an idea, that Bella could pose as his girlfriend for the two days.

It seemed reasonable enough though, he had Tanya before, so it was very believable that he could have gotten another one.

Edward went back to the room to ask Bella. He was wondering how he should frame the question; it made no sense scaring her again.

Edward shrugged, and decided to just come right out with it. He entered the room, where Bella was playing with her food that_ was cold by now. _When she heard him come in, she looked up and smiled.

Edward just tried to mask his discomfort, and did what he had to do.

Edward did not expect that reaction from her. Most people might have said _something _but Bella didn't utter a word. She didn't even _move. _She just looked at him, with this weird expression, like she was confused or something.

"_She thinks I'm serious! I better explain." _

Edward raked his hand through his hair, and brought his fingers across his face.

"Bella, what I meant to say was, would you pretend to be my girlfriend? Please, it's a very long story."

"Feel free to tell me the story Edward. That was a pretty big shocker. You really scared me."

_Yeah right, you were super excited. _

Edward closed his eyes, shielding his green eyes from Bella.

"To cut a long story short, my parents are coming for a quick visit, and I don't want them to know the truth about you, ever."

Bella's eyes misted over, and her lips quivered a little. Her cheeks flushed light pink, and she slowly averted her gaze from Edward.

"So you're ashamed of me? I haven't yet reached the standard to meet your parents?"

Edward ignored her tears.

"No, that's not it. They don't approve of what I do, so I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend while they're here for a visit."

Bella considered what Edward was saying. After knowing this total stranger for a mere week, she had to pretend to be his girlfriend. The last time she did something remotely close to that…Andre took advantage of that.

"Look, you don't have to answer me tonight. Just get some rest. I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight Bella."

Edward wheeled out of the room, without a last look at Bella. She turned on her side, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

Edward returned two hours alter to remove Bella's untouched dinner. As he looked at her sleeping figure, he desperately hoped that she would agree to his proposition.

Edward woke up early the next morning to prepare breakfast for Alice and Bella. H e wanted them to eat together, so that Alice could at least try to be nice. To this day, he could not comprehend why Alice disliked Bella so much.

As far as he knew, Bella never said more than two words to Alice. She had actually seemed like quite a nice person. Alice was usually friendly, so her behavior was inexcusable.

Not too long after the pancakes were finished, Alice came downstairs with a sour expression on her face. She didn't say good morning, or look in Edward's direction. She just plopped down on a chair, and put five pancakes on her plate.

"Good morning to you too Alice, it's so nice to see you!"

Alice glared at Edward, and then looked back at her pancakes.

"Ali, what's the matter?"

"Thanks to your precious Bella", she sneered, "Jasper and I broke up."

"Thank God" Edward muttered under his breath.

"That's not a good thing you know", she retorted. "Because now I'm gonna make Bella's life even worse."

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself down. He didn't understand what Bella had to do with anything, and he didn't think he wanted to know either. Unfortunately, he was a big brother, and that was his job.

"What did Bella do to make Jasper break up with you?" He asked gently.

"It doesn't matter. The damage has already been done anyway, so it's too late."

Alice continued eating silently, and put her remaining half eaten pancake in the disposal. She picked up her designer handbag and walked out of the door.

Shortly after Alice left, Bella entered the kitchen. She wore a pair of worn jeans, a pink tee shirt, and white flip flops.

"Good morning!" Edward said brightly. "I have some pancakes here for you. There're really hot."

Bella blushed slightly at the word "hot". She took in Edward's outfit. Although she was unable to see his full frame, she could tell he was tall, with his long legs.

_Edwards had some nice legs. _

He was decked in pair khaki of shorts {**a/n not short shorts!}**, a light blue converse t-shirt, and navy blue converse sneakers. She blushed even deeper at the sight of the converse. Bella was insanely attracted to guys that wore converse sneakers. **(a/n me too!) **

Edward's black hair was wet and shiny, but it wasn't in a pony tail today, instead, he left it out, and held it back from his face with a thin black head band. It curled up around his broad, delicious shoulders.

"_OMG, this gorgeous man wants me to play girlfriend! How can I say no to that?" _

"Earth to Bella, any _particular _reason you're blushing?" Edward asked with a smirk.

"Yes, maybe." Bella replied. "I like your shoes, and your hair. For some reason, I get all weird when I see a guy in a converse, and he manages to look so great in it."

Both Bella _and _Edward blushed at her confession.

"Thank you for your honesty" Edward replied, with his "fake" blue eyes piercing into hers. "As I was saying, are you ready to eat?"

"Yes please, I'm starving. Speaking of which, what did you do with my Italian?"

"You fell asleep, so I put in the refridgerator."

Bella nodded, and then turned her attention to her breakfast. Bella and Edward ate in an uncomfortable silence, until Edward broke it.

"Have you thought about what I've asked you Bella?"

Bella kept her composure as she slowly raised her eyes to meet Edward's. She had thought about it, and she was planning to say no, until she saw Edward this morning.

_Well la di da! _

"Yes, she started slowly. I've decided that I have no problem helping you out. It's just two days right?"

"Not exactly Bella." Edward stated. "We may need to convince Alice that we're a couple."

Bella choked on a mouthful of pancakes. She grabbed her glass of cranberry juice to swallow it down.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not sure, but, we need to make her think that we've known each other before you came here."

"That's impossible Edward. She's a smart girl, so she won't fall for that."

Edward wheeled over to her side, and came dangerously close to her face.

"Well Bella," he whispered in her ear. "We're going to have to be pretty convincing aren't we?"

Bella stared at Edward wide eyed, as his face inched closer and closer to hers. Bella did not move, but her breathing hitched, and then stopped completely when Edward's lips barely brushed against hers.

Then, she screamed. Bella screamed very, very loudly.

She almost fell out of her chair trying to get away from Edward.

"What do you think you're doing Edward?" Bella asked in the most menacing voice she could manage.

"Bella, I thought you said you agreed to pretend to be my girlfriend?"

"I have an even better idea. I can just be your maid. I have experience, and your parents would have no trouble believing that a shabby looking girl such as me was the "help".

"You're not shabby looking Bella." Edward replied gently. "And if I let you do that, Alice is sure to take advantage of it."

"I'm a big girl, I'm pretty sure I can handle her."

"How the hell can you handle her when you allowed her swat your dinner from your hands last night?" He demanded.

Bella stepped back, looking scared as hell.

"I didn't mean to scare you, but would it really hurt to just try? You're not seventeen anymore, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the first guy you ever kissed."

"_No, but you are the second, and by far the more handsome." _ Bella thought.

"I don't know, but I'll think about it." Bella laughed off the previous moment with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I'll start by leaning up the kitchen and letting you go rest yourself." Bella gave Edward her most sincere smile.

Edward nodded, seemingly satisfied, and wheeled out of the kitchen to do a forty five minute exercise.

Meanwhile, Bella slinked down on the kitchen cupboard, sobbing silently, and wondering what she got herself into again.

When Edward entered his room, he was still feeling slightly pissed off. He was grateful that Bella offered to clean the kitchen, because he might've broken something, or everything.

Edward had understood Bella's hesitation, which is why he asked her to think about it. He just didn't understand her logic. How can you be someone's girlfriend and not kiss them?

He was very sure that part of Bella's hesitation was because he was in a wheelchair. However, when he thought about it again, it seemed pretty unlikely, because she was pretty attracted to him this morning.

Edward pushed his irritation away, and focused on his leg exercises.

He pushed himself up, while holding on to the beam, and came back down again. He continued this painful ritual for twenty minutes, before doing something else.

He moved do his long exercise bench, and lay himself down on it.

Edward then proceeded to lift each leg up, as high as he could. He bit his tongue so hard to avoid screaming out in pain, and it eventually started to bleed.

Soon enough, he couldn't take the double pain anymore, and yelled in agony.

"Arrrggh!" He exclaimed. "Goodness gracious, holy mother of pete!"

"Edward? Was that you? You sounded like you were in- pain."

Bella stood at the door frame open mouth, as she watched Edward's leg muscles strain as he held them on an iron bar above the bench he lay on.

"Edward you're hurting yourself. Just, gently take down your legs, please."

Edward turned to face Bella and there was nothing but determination on his face. He turned back to the bar above him, and then counted down silently.

"20, 19, 18…..10" Tears pricked in his eyes. "9, 8, 7…4, 3, 2, 1"

Edward removed his feet, and lay on the bench while a frantic and very worried Bella looked on.

"See Bella," Edward said with a smile. "I'm okay, because I'm used to this."

"I was so worried when I heard you scream. That sound is pretty familiar to my ears."

Edward closed his eyes, and looked as though he were doing some breathing exercises. Suddenly, he got up, and swung himself back into his chair. Bella noticed that Edward's face had fallen slightly as he returned to his chair.

Her heart ached for him and his disability, although that didn't stop her from caring for him.

"Edward, are you ever going to be able to walk again?" She asked.

Edward's mouth tightened, and pressed in a straight line. He contemplated whether or not he should answer that question. It was pretty innocent, nothing too nosy about it. It just sounded as though Bella genuinely wanted to know.

_Why the hell why though?_

"The doctor said that there's a seventy eight percent possibility." Edward began. "That was two years ago, so I'm pretty sure my chances have increased."

Bella waited patiently for him to continue.

"Do you know what my motivation is?"

Edward chuckled.

"I want to have sex again, without worrying about getting tired." Edward continued, totally oblivious to Bella's crimson blush.

"I want to swim in a swimming pool and dance in my favorite clubs like I used to. I want to be able to _stand _next to Emmett for his wedding Bella." Edward said this with utmost sincerity.

"Most importantly, I want to use the feet that God gave me for a good purpose."

Bella nodded. She had understood now why he was willing to put himself through so much pain. It was almost as though he were punishing himself. Why would such a wonderful person want to punish their self?

Bella had thought about what Edward told her in the kitchen. It wasn't that she was being immature about the kiss, she was just feeling slightly traumatized, and in all seriousness, he was practically a stranger.

While she cleaned the kitchen, Bella thought about all the things Edward had done to earn her trust

He took her into his home, and made his intentions clear, he defended her against Alice, he listened to her story while she cried hysterically…

Edward hadn't done anything to make Bella skeptical, apart from this morning. She didn't know what would happen if his parents found out the truth. She was unsure as to what relationship he had with them, and she did not know his parents, at all. Not even a first name.

While Bella stood in that kitchen, she knew that she was a terrible actor, and it would have been impossible for her to pretend to have feelings for anyone.

Luckily for her, she did develop a slight crush on Edward, and the feelings she had for him, would equate to that of a couple that recently got together. It would be easy for Bella to "act" like she was crazy about him, or whatever she was supposed to do, because in a way, she already was.

The down side was, while it would be real for her, it was totally fake for Edward. When it was all over, there was a possibility that she would be in too deep, and he would just unknowingly break her heart.

After seeing all the pain Edward went through, Bella decided that a little heartbreak was worth seeing Edward happy.

Bella gave Edward a shy smile.

"You sure look like you could use a hug." She laughed.

"I sure could, thank you!" Edward relied, returning the smile.

Bella walked over to Edward, and gave him a big, warm hug, just like she used to give her old boyfriend in high school. It was the type of hug that said "Don't worry, your secrets are safe with me, and so are you."

Edward relished in the feeling, and pulled Bella back to look at him. He had removed his contacts again, like he had taken her advice, and stared into her eyes imploringly.

Bella knew what he wanted. As simple as the matter was, pretend to be my girlfriend so my parents won't find out. Bella had already made her decision, so she nodded her head and gave him another smile.

Edward returned a flashy, toothy smile, the dimple in his left cheek showing.

"_Holy crow he has a dimple! What did I do to deserve this?" Bella thought. _

"Thanks Bella, for trusting me and everything."

"Yeah, its okay, I don't mind. I was wondering, remember when you were telling me that you wanted to turn me into a "model citizen", and you wanted me to continue my education. When am I going to do that?" Bella asked this quite sadly, because she was really looking forward to going back to school.

She wanted to excel in French, and possibly be a teacher some day. Hopefully she could get that opportunity.

"Well of course you'll do your classes. I've enrolled you in a couple classes at the community college. You start Wednesday."

Bella lit up like a Christmas tree, and did her absolute best to contain her excitement.

"Anything in particular you wanted to do today Edward? Besides doing your uh, exercise?"

Edward nodded.

"Yes, I wanted to test your Literature skills. The course I've enrolled you in is pretty advanced."

"What are the other courses?" She asked.

"Well I remembered how much you like French, and then I put you in Anger Management as well."

"I don't have anger problems Edward." Bella said, shocked.

Edward shrugged indifferently.

"It was a free course, so I thought why not? I'm doing it with you I it makes you feel any better."

"It doesn't make me feel any better because I have no problems controlling my anger."

"I understand that, Bella, but it doesn't hurt to learn something knew, in the case of future encounters, you will know what to do."

Isabella Swan pursed her lips to prevent herself from saying anything further. Edward was trying to provoke her, and it wasn't going to work.

For the remaining of the day, Edward helped Bella prepare for her upcoming classes.

They started off with Literature, Edward's strongest subject. The books they were using for that course were Brother Man, a Caribbean novel, along with a selection of Robert Frost's most complicated poems.

The story line to Brother Man was simple. He was a man who had attributes of Christ, and his so called "followers" rejected him in a similar manner.

Bella did not like anything about poetry. She hated reading it, writing it, and most importantly, she didn't like analyzing it.

She placed her dislikes aside, and pushed herself to read The Road Not Taken. As much as Bella liked to read, poetry just wasn't her thing.

_Two roads diverged in a yellow wood_

_And sorry I could not travel both_

_And be one traveler long I stood and looked down one_

_As far as I could_

_To where it bent in the undergrowth._

"What do you think it's about, from reading that one stanza?" Edward inquired.

"It makes me think about choices, that's for sure." Bella replied. "I get a feeling of regret from him, as though he really wishes he could pass down _both _roads. It seems simple, but I'm sure there's so much more to it."

"There is more to it, a lot more actually. But I'll leave you to figure it out yourself!"

Edward closed all textbooks at four pm. They had been working for four hours taking breaks in between, and Edward and Bella were both tired of work.

The pair of them was famished, they were tired, and they were too lazy to do any more work.

Edward suggested that they order pizza; because there was no way he was cooking anything at that point in time.

Bella agreed eagerly, she hadn't tasted pizza in ages!

When the Hawaiian pizza and the Supreme pizza that they ordered from Pizza Hut finally arrived, they dug in greedily. Edward had almost forgotten about Alice, only almost. He left back five slices of the Hawaiian for her.

He and Bella kicked back on the couch, and prepared for Alice to arrive home so could start acting as a couple.

Edward subtly draped his arm around Bella, and Bella naturally leaned on his shoulder, and inhaled his fresh, powdery scent, wishing that the moment could last forever.

**A/N: So my pretties! Have you all enjoyed your chapter! I hope it was worth the wait. My exams are over…FINALLY! So hopefully I'll be able to update more often. Please leave a review! It doesn't take long you know! **

**Au Revoir!**

**Carly 333**


	6. Can't you keep a secret?

**Here is chapter seven at last! Enjoy my PRETTIES! MWAHZ!**

Alice drove home from school after an incredibly stressful day. She just wanted to take a warm bath, and slink into her soft, fluffy canopy bed.

Strangely, she was also in the mood for pizza. She would have to order, especially since _Monsieur _Edward only ate home-made food.

She pulled into the driveway of her beloved house, and slipped her face into a façade so as to not give away the events of her day.

She was still upset about her night with Jasper that it almost hurt to think his name. Luckily, he didn't go to her school. Jasper took classes at a nearby community college. (**A/N- hint hint!) **She wasn't sure that she trusted him enough to not get another girlfriend, and it broke her heart.

Alice's face slipped into an easy smile as she slammed the door of her green Mini Cooper, and fumbled for her keys to open the front door.

After a hard day at school, the first sight she was blessed with was Edward and Bella, curled up on one another, asleep on the couch.

_What the hell is going on here?_

Alice blinked rapidly, and rubbed her eyes over and over again, praying that what she saw in-front of her was just a dream.

_It wasn't a dream. _

Edward yawned, with his eyes still closed, and a small smile played on his lips as though he were dreaming something pleasant, a little too pleasant perhaps.

Little did Alice know, Edward was trying not to laugh, because he and Bella weren't really asleep. When they heard the door opening, they turned off the television and shut their eyes.

Bella was better at the game, from experience with Andre of course. Edward just imagined his baby sister standing their, practically fuming. The image in his head was so hilarious, that he bit his tongue to prevent himself from laughing out loud.

_Eclater de rire, _was the word Bella taught him, which meant, in French, to burst out laughing.

He had learnt it while they were reviewing French. Well, while Bella was reviewing French anyway. He was trying to dismiss his hunger, and boredom, and failed miserably.

Alice stood there, pondering whether or not to wake them up, or take her bath and confront them later. She stormed into the kitchen and found five slices of Hawaiian pizza waiting for her. She decided on the second choice.

She entered her room and turned on her I-pod, scrolling through her playlist to find the perfect song that reflected her mood.

_Picture to Burn- Taylor Swift_

_When I Look at You- Miley Cyrus_

_T'es Parti- Shy'm _

Some Taylor Swift songs sounded just about perfect. After Alice got some much needed rest, she would formulate her diabolical plan to get rid of Bella.

While soaking in her Olive Oil salts in her bathtub, a thought ran through Alice's mind. Why did she despise Bella so much anyway? She was normally pretty friendly and opened to everyone.

She chewed on her bottom lip, and chewed, and chewed, and chewed. Finally, she remembered Tanya. Tanya was a tall, cute redhead, that Edward had fallen head over heals in love a year after his accident.

Tanya started out leading Edward on, making him believe that she reciprocated his feelings, but in the end, it just didn't work out.

She felt like his wheelchair was too much of a burden. Wherever they went on dates, she complained of having to fumble with his wheelchair.

People were always staring at them, more specifically at her. Tanya, in the end, just gave up on Alice's sweet, unsuspecting brother.

Alice understood now. After she witnessed Edward's heartache, Alice was no longer willing to let another pretty girl into Edward's life.

She had to admit it. Bella was gorgeous, after she had cleaned up a bit. But it was insanely difficult to fathom that her brother had fallen for that _thing _after one week.

Alice wasn't going to sit around and let her brother become heartbroken yet again, especially after what she experienced last night.

Tears pooled up in her eyes again after she remembered Jasper's words.

_I already got what I wanted._

What kind of person breaks up with a girl like that? And yet, she still loved him, and was willing to take him back no matter what.

Alice sniffed, tried her tears, and stepped out of her bath, wrapping herself in a fluffy towel robe, and flopped down on her bed. Shortly after wards, she knocked out completely, putting to rest her sad, confused, and revengeful thoughts.

Edward shook Bella to indicate that she could've opened her eyes. She smiled when she felt his warm, sturdy touch on his arms.

Bella thought that the last ten minutes were the best of her life. Wrapped up in Edward's arms, snuggling into his shoulder, inhaling his delicious scent.

Her mouth was grazing his smooth jaw line, and she was tempted to kiss it as she lay there in fake slumber.

It would have been a cute "pretend" thing to do, but also dangerous to face Alice's wrath. It wasn't Edward who was afraid of Alice finding out, but Bella. She was the one that Alice hated; Alice would do anything to protect her family.

Both Edward and Bella untangled themselves from each other's arms in a fit of quiet giggles. They assumed that Alice had finally gone to bed, and they opted that since they weren't tired, they would continue watching the movie.

_When in Rome _was one of the most amusing movies Bella had ever watched. She may have been out of the movie watching scene for two years or so, but she knew a good movie when she saw one.

When the movie ended at nine o clock, they put on another movie, and another movie, and another, until they fell asleep for real.

Edward's eyes flickered open sleepily. His eyes became adjusted to the blue light radiating off the television screen.

He blinked his eyes, trying to figure out where he was. At first, he was oblivious to the sleeping Bella, cradled to his chest, her even breathing matching his. Her hand rested lightly on his chest, and shivered slightly ever so often.

When Edward came to the realization that he had fallen asleep next to Bella, he got a bit worried. He didn't want her to think that he was taking advantage of her kindness. He was quite comfortable where he was, Bella on the other hand, he doubted it.

He checked the time on the analog clock. Three -fifty nine am, and here he was, snoozing on his living room sofa, with a television screen watching him.

He woke Bella up gently, but she didn't budge. Rather, she snuggled into him even more. Finally, he used his voice.

"Bella, Bella wake up. You should go in your bed to sleep."

No answer.

He shook her a little roughly this time, but kept the volume of his voice down.

"Bella, please wake up already, it's almost four o'clock."

Bella remained as solid as a rock.

After many more futile attempts to coax Bella awake, Edward did what he usually did to Alice. He used all his strength the shove Bella off of him.

Bella tumbled to the ground with a loud thud. It must've have been the noise that woke her because she awoke with a start.

"What, where, how?" She asked in a panicked voice as she looked around frantically. She rubbed her side, where she bruised as she hit the floor. Bella's hair was completely ruffled and untidy, hey pigtails no- longer looking cute and innocent.

She stared around her as though she were still asleep, and kept slapping her face, urging herself to wake up.

Edward couldn't take it anymore. His facial expression morphed from smirking, into amusement. He burst out laughing, loudly in fact, that it brought Bella out of her daze. When she realized that Edward had rolled her off the ground, and then saw him clutching his sides consumed with happiness, she narrowed her eyes.

Edward was oblivious to Bella's annoyance and tears streamed down his face. His face had turned very red now, and that provoked Bella even further.

She sprang to her feet, grabbed a pillow from the sofa, and threw and Edward.

It hit him smack in the face.

When Edward realized what Bella did, he got silent, blinked twice, then started his raucous laughter once again. New tears formed in his eyes and spilled over; Edward held his chest to catch his breath.

"Wow Bella, you managed to make me laugh for a full ten minutes, and no one has been able to do that since…"

He climbed back into his wheelchair, and made his way to his soft, cold bed, and fell asleep with a certain red-head present in his dreams.

Tanya was what you would call every boy's first love. She was tall, long legged, blue eyed, and pink lipped, and possessed a certain charm that caused every boyfriend she ever had to grovel at her feet. She fell in love with Edward, despite his delinquency, and he fell in love with her, totally blinded by her mischievous, conniving, and sly personality.

After having his heart broken in one of the most brutal ways, Edward had still loved Tanya, with all his heart, and as such, he closed up his own heart to accepting or giving love to anyone else. Little did he know that there was someone a few doors down, contemplating whether or not it was safe to play it for real.

Bella tossed and turned in her bed, at one am in the morning. What could she possibly have been thinking about, to keep her awake at that hour? Apparently it was pretty important to have left Bella frantic and close to tears. She was developing feelings for a kind, beautiful stranger, with the voice of an angel, and a heart of gold.

She didn't care that he was in a wheelchair, the thought was most inconsequential. At first, Bella assumed that Edward's preposition was just in an effort to save his ass from embarrassment, and spare her feelings, and she was still willing to oblige.

But after seeing his genuine display of false affection earlier, her mind was in shambles, and she didn't know what to do.

Her classes at the college were coming up, and she was very excited. She had Edward to thank for that, and she had no desire to ruin their relationship by giving way to her feelings.

Whatever she was feeling, she hoped it would dissipate by the next day. She finally drifted off into a dreamless slumber, after deciding to "let the chips fall where it may".

In the next few days, Bella and Edward fell into a routine. Bella would go to the kitchen for breakfast at eight am, just before Alice left for school. Edward would already be in the kitchen, cooking breakfast, and Bella would walk over to him and greet him affectionately.

Sometimes it was with a peck on the cheek, or by wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Whatever she did, Alice ignored them, and continued to keep up her sulky and unfriendly façade. Meanwhile, what she was really doing was observing them.

Bella was as genuine as ever, having fallen for her brother's charm. Alice had to hand it to him, for a twenty-three year old in a wheelchair, he still had it.

Edward seemed relaxed by Bella's movements, but when he looked at her, Alice didn't see the infatuation that she used to see when he looked at Tanya. What she did see was admiration, and care, and gratitude, but _never _did she see any feelings of _love _or _like_ in Edward's eyes.

They were pretending, and there was a reason, a _very_ good reason.

"Alright love-birds, quit pretending and tell me why the heck you're trying to pull a fast one and trick me into believing that you guys are a couple." Alice said all of this calmly, while giving Bella an odd look.

The truth was that she lessened her animosity towards Bella, after having seen that she really did care for Edward. She was also relieved that Edward didn't reciprocate those feelings, and hence, she could lighten up on Bella.

She had all but forgotten about what happened with Jasper, she still felt it was Bella's fault, but she didn't feel the need to get as much revenge as before.

"Well, I'm waiting for you to answer me Edward, Bella?"

Edward and Bella looked at each other, both terrified of what Alice's reaction would be. Edward pleaded with his eyes to Bella to keep her mouth shut, while he racked his brain for a lie.

Nothing came up, so he decided, very reluctantly, to tell Alice the truth, and try to coax Alice into lying with them.

"Mum and dad are coming in a week or so Ali, and I know how much they disapprove of what I do. I wasn't sure what to do with Bella, so I asked her to pretend to be my girlfriend while they were here.

"I knew you wouldn't go for it, so I asked her to let us start in advance so we could convince you too."

Alice nodded her head, without a trace of emotion on her face.

"Well Edward, why don't you save _yourself _the trouble, and just let Bella _pretend_ to be a friend of mine. I know how _uncomfortable _it must have been for you to do that, much less for when mum and dad arrive. "

Alice directed a coy smile in Bella's direction. Bella had picked up on Alice's insinuation, but Edward didn't. He was genuinely relieved that he didn't have to fool Alice anymore, and he was also pleased that Alice was being civil to Bella.

Alice knew what she was doing though. She saw how disappointed Bella was, and internally gave herself a high- five for making her feel a pinch of hurt.

After Alice left for school, Edward asked Bella if she wanted to visit the community college, and get acquainted as she was beginning her classes the following week.

"I figured that after a while you'd get tired of being stuck in the house Bella. It's only so many times you can enjoy sitting on the front lawn. Besides, I'm no use either, because I can't take you anywhere."

"It's alright Edward." Bella replied. I enjoy your company, so I barely noticed."

Bella was lying, and she knew it. She didn't want Edward to feel guilty for _his _disability, because it wasn't his fault. She had yet to hear the story behind Edward's accident, he never told her.

She knew he was a trouble maker in his younger days, but she didn't know the details. After all she told him, she didn't know a thing about his background.

This saddened Bella, but she tried not to let it bother her. She was going to school next week, which would be the highlight of her life, so, she shrugged off her indifferences, and moved on.

"Could you give me the directions to the college please?" Bella asked.

Edward studied her face. Her expression had been changing for the past minute, and he longed to know what she was thinking. She appeared to be sad, though he couldn't imagine why, she was getting to leave the house!

Edward shrugged his shoulders, and wrote down the directions on a slip of paper.

"It shouldn't be too hard to find, but I'll give you my cell phone, and you can call the house phone if you have trouble."

Bella took Edward's i-Phone from his hands, and stared at it incredulously.

"I'm not sure I know how to use this phone Edward, and I don't want to mash it up."

Edward chuckled lightly.

"All you have to do is- as a matter of fact; I'll just give you Alice's old phone. Hopefully you'll come back before she notices."

"Thank you Edward, you're the best", Bella said with a small smile. She bent to give him a hug, but he wheeled away from her.

"Woah Bella, we don't have to pretend anymore, seriously, no hugs are necessary."

Bella looked hurt, and that was happening a lot lately.

"I was just giving you a "thank you" hug Edward, no need for you to freak out!"

"Oh, well in that case, you're welcome to hug me anytime! Be safe, and have fun."

Bella rolled her eyes playfully, and exited the door. Having nothing else to do, Edward retreated to his little gym to stretch his muscles. It shouldn't be too long before he was able to walk again, and then he would be able to get Tanya back.

**BPOV **

The moment I stepped onto that curb, I felt so exhilarated! I was so touched when Edward suggested that I leave the house to visit the community college. I wasn't sure why he hadn't let me go earlier, but what the heck, I was getting to socialize. The day that I, Bella Swan got excited about socializing, well, you could say that I was fed- up of being indoors.

I thoroughly enjoyed Edward's company, so I didn't mind as much. Edward was kind, sweet, handsome, well spoken, smart…and the list goes on. He is certainly everything I could wish for in a guy, but, as I witnessed for myself this morning, those feeling were not reciprocated towards me, and they never would be.

I turned down the street Edward directed me to, and I could see the building up ahead. As I walked closer and closer, I saw that it was a reasonably sized campus. The gate was gold, and opened to a grassy pathway that led up a short hill. I stopped at the gate, to speak to the security officer.

"Welcome to Lakeview Community College. Are you a student here, or are you just going for a walk around campus?"

"Actually, I am a student, but I haven't started my classes yet. I was only recently enrolled, so I'm getting acquainted with the environment."

"Well alright then. The campus is fairly safe, and if you get lost, the students are pretty friendly, so just ask around."

"Thank you, I'll do that", I replied.

The campus was really pretty, like it was ripped out of a magazine, and dropped and the piece of land.

I continued walking on the pathway, passing a couple students and giving them small smiles. I saw a few buildings on my right and left, which I made out to be the cafeteria, the library, the professor's longue, and the Learning Resource Centre.

While continuing my walk, I came across other lecture halls, and study areas. When the campus came to an end, I saw why they called the college "Lake View".

Overlooking a small hill was a small expanse of water. In the sunlight, the water changed from green, to turquoise, to deep blue, over and over again.

Down below, I could see students taking a morning dip, while other students sat under the shady trees reading books, and chatting with one another.

I inhaled the fresh, clean air, taking it all in. At the same time, I was taking in the reality that had been my life. After starting out with a great life, and loving family, things went downhill when my father left.

After that, my mother stopped paying attention to me. I let my life go haywire from then on. And Andre he was the biggest mistake of all. As I stood here, I decided that it was time to let go of my past, and hold on to my future.

I had a temporary home, a great trust worthy friend, and the promise of guidance and direction. I took in one final breath, a very deep breath, and then let it go with a long whoosh.

_I should really do this more often. It feels great._

I felt invigorated after my epiphany, so I took a run down the hill leading to the lake.

It was more beautiful up close!

I took off my sandals, and rolled up my jeans, and took a step into the water. The temperature was perfect. I took two more steps. I had to remind myself that I wasn't at the beach; I was at a lake instead.

There were people very far out, but they were on float boards, and noodles. I had such a strong desire to run home and ask Edward to come with me and take a dip in the water, but then I remembered that he couldn't.

Oh well, I would just have to find another friend to swim with, some other time though. For now, I positioned myself comfortably under an Almond tree, to read some more of my _L'Etranger. _

After asking a passing group of students the time, I decided that it was time to return home. I had spent a lot of time down here, and I was very hungry. I closed my book, put back on my sandals, and walked back to campus.

I couldn't wait to reach home to tell Edward about my day! This campus was amazing, and I knew for a fact that I was going to enjoy myself.

With my head held high, I walked back to the gate I came through. I gave a shy wave to the security officer, and walked briskly back to my place of refuge.

Nearing the house, I heard music radiating from the living room. I didn't recognize the song, hell; there were a lot of songs I didn't know. I knocked on the door, I didn't have a key, and a few seconds later, Edward opened the door.

I just stood there, like and idiot, staring at him. I could never get over Edward's perfection. I absolutely loved it when he took out his contacts, and I got the chance to see his eyes. Edward had beautiful green eyes that trapped me every time. I remembered the first time I saw them, and I blacked out.

His eyes just reminded me of water, the water by the sea, and the water at the lake. His hair was wet, like he had just come out of the shower, and he pulled it into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. His white sweat shirt was big, but it looked so soft and snuggly.

_Did I really just describe Edward's shirt as being snuggly?_

I loved to see him wear checkered pants. It was _incredibly _fashionable, and they looked _fantastic _on him. For a moment, I had wanted to check out his ass, but I knew I couldn't so I let it go.

On his feet, he wore another pair of converse sneakers. These shoes are going to be the death of me, why doesn't he wear slippers anyway.

"Hey there Bella how was your walk?" As usual, Edward had to snap me out of my embarrassing daydreaming.

"It was great! I absolutely love the campus, its lovely."

"So I take it you saw the lake huh?" He asked.

"You knew about the lake and you didn't tell me?"

"Bella, as much as I love talking to you, wouldn't you rather come inside so I can close the door?"

It was getting a bit annoying that I kept doing things to embarrass myself. I nodded, and bent my head so that Edward wouldn't see my blush.

"So Bella, I was thinking we should go out for lunch today, you know, I'm feeling kind of lazy, and I know you're too excited to cook."

I looked at him quizzically. How were we supposed to go anywhere? I couldn't drive, and neither could he.

Edward let out another musical laugh.

"I know what you're thinking, but I have a driver, so he should be here shortly. His name is Jacob; you guys would get along pretty well."

"I get to go out twice in one day! Edward you have no idea how happy that makes me!"

Edward smiled at me.

"Consider yourself part of the family now Bella, you're like, a cousin to me. Well, a cousin that I kind of kissed and pretended to be her boyfriend." He smirked as he watched another blush creep up my face.

"Do you mind if I take a shower first? You look so crisp and fresh, and I- don't."

Edward shrugged and turned his attention to the music player.

"Yeah, whatever you want, we still have to wait for Jacob anyway."

I turned around and went to my shower. I started calling it "my shower" now because no-one else used it. After washing off all the grime from my body, I rushed to my room and pulled on a skirt, a purple hoodie and white sandals.

I applied some lip gloss, pulled my hair into a ponytail, and just like that, I was ready for my lunch date with Edward.

_Well, maybe it wasn't a date. _

I went to the living room to wait on the driver, and joined Edward in listening to music. He was currently playing Enrique Iglesias. I was not a fan of the guy, so I politely kept my mouth shut.

Finally, five painful songs, the doorbell rang. I ran to open it, and boy was my breath taken away for the second time that day.

"Good day, I'm Jacob, Edward's driver. Are you guys ready?"

"Uh, yeah, we are, I'm Bella by the way."

"Nice to meet you Bella, are you going to get Edward?"

"No need for that", Edward said as he pulled up behind me. "I'm right here. I see you met my lovely cousin Jacob?"

"Yes", Jacob replied. "She's quite the cutie." Jacob winked at me.

_The cute, tanned guy with the shiny hair and squinty eyes winked, at me! _

Edward went in front of me, while I locked up the door. I watched as Jacob smoothly eased Edward into the front seat, and then placed the wheelchair in the trunk of the car.

I quietly sat in the backseat, at just listened as Jacob and Edward chatted amiably in the front.

I noticed that the car was a vintage Volvo. It seemed to me that Edward had a thing for fancy cars. Alice had a nice car, and now Edward gave his "chauffeur" a Volvo to drive around?

We arrived at Bella Italia in record time. Again with the Italian, did he have an obsession with Italian food?

I stepped out of the car, and opened the door for Edward, and waited for Jacob to come to our side with the chair. After that business was settled, we entered the restaurant, and surprisingly, no-one stared at Edward. It was me they were staring at.

Our over friendly waitress got us a table in the middle of the restaurant. Edward and I preferred a window seat, but it was lunch hour, take it or leave it.

"Do you have an obsession with Italian food?" I asked once we were seated. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but there are other types of food."

"Actually, you sound very ungrateful." He replied with a chuckle. "I brought you here because I thought Italian was your favorite."

"It was my favorite actually." I countered. "But I prefer Creole foods. It has a lot more flavor, and it's less processed"

Edward nodded in fascination as I continued to share my knowledge about different foods. He laughed when I said I didn't like French foods, especially crepes and escargot. He argued that escargots are a precious delicacy that is ignored just because they are snails.

I told him that snails are listed in the Bible as being an unclean meat.

We continued like this for a while until our waitress came and took our orders. I asked for a Chicken Parmesan with Mozzarella cheese, on Rigatoni. Edward took vegetable Ravioli. How exciting.

We chatted again while we waited for our meals to arrive. He started off our conversation by asking me how I enjoyed the scenery of Lakeview.

"It was perfect", I said. "I never imagined that I would get to attend college after my dad left, and now thanks to you, and God, it's possible. Thank you Edward, again."

"No problem Bella, you deserve it anyway. So tell me what you did, what you saw, you know, try to sound like an excited high school student."

I laughed at his choice of words.

"Well!" I started off in an over eager accent. "I was totally psyched when the security officer showed me where to go and everything, and then I walked along that awesome grassy pathway!" After passing all the buildings, I got to the top and I-"

Edward stopped me with a loud outburst of laughter."

"Goodness Bella,, you didn't have to take it literally! You sure do have an innocent sense of humor. I can't wait for you to meet Emmett; you guys will love each other."

"You said that same thing about Jacob." I joked.

I went back to my story about Lakeview. I told him how I perceived the lake to be changing color under the sunlight, about the easy nature of the students, and their friendliness. I even mentioned how I curled up under a tree to read my book.

By that time, our lunch had arrived, and for the most part, we ate in silence. We had gotten to the point where we could be silent around one another, without feeling awkward. I really liked that about our relationship, well, our friendship maybe.

Like he said, I was like a cousin to him, and he seemed pretty determined to leave it that way. Whether he was aware that I liked him or not, he didn't show it.

I, for the most part, was content. Edward was a God send, and I was making the greatest effort to be a great friend. We finished our lunch after about half an hour, and ordered desert to go.

Edward called Jacob, Jacob arrived, and we returned home with our stomachs stuffed and overjoyed.

**A/N: You have no idea how proud I am of this chapter! I worked very hard on this one, and as you can see, it's my first attempt at a 1****ST**** person POV. I hoped it was up to your standards; sorry I'm such a tardy updater. **

**Au Revoir mes amies!**


	7. I'm finally happy

**Author's Note: Okay, so I know I took longer that I should have to finish this chapter. ****Désolée****. This chapter starts off a bit slow, but like I said, we need to get rid of the boring first! This chapter is dedicated to ****peter2918, who responded immediately to my cry for a Anyway, to all my loyal readers, reviewing, and non reviewing, thank you, I love you, and do ENJOY!**

**BPOV**

Over the weekend, Alice, Edward and I had gone to the mall to get a couple items for my classes. Alice was our driver, because Edward wanted to give Jacob a day off, and give Alice and I a chance to "bond" as "friends".

_Like that was going to happen._

I often wondered when Edward was going to come to his senses and realize how Alice usually avoided me like the plague. She only spoke to me when it was absolutely necessary, and for the most part, she was civil, not friendly or polite or kind, but civil.

As we pulled up to the mall in Alice's car, her very gorgeous Mini Cooper, I could barely contain my excitement. I hadn't been to a mall in years, much less for a mall as nice as this one.

Alice drove into a parking space for the disabled, and proceeded to help Edward out of the front seat. We all walked into the mall together, but then Alice told Edward to call when e were finished.

"I'm going to meet up with Angela and Jessica if you don't mind. Just call me when you're ready to leave okay?"

"Whatever Alice, just make sure you answer your phone this time." Edward replied.

Alice rolled her eyes and smiled slightly, as though she remembered something funny.

"Is there something related to Alice's rare smile?" I joked.

"Yes", said Edward. The last time I came here, it was Alice and I alone. She wanted to go to some clothes store that was having a sale or whatever, and she gave me her car keys to hold "hostage"."

I was confused, and I'm pretty sure my expression showed it.

"She gave me the keys to ensure that she came back for me. Alice really loves her car, and she knew very well that if she was a moment late, I would have called someone else to drive me home. When she didn't answer her phone, I called my friend Jacob to pick me up. He was pretty thrilled to drive that car."

"Is that how he managed to be your driver?"

"You're a smart girl Bella!" Edward responded with a laugh.

"And you are sarcastic." I retorted dryly.

The first store we went to was Stationary Plus. I grabbed hold of a basket and picked up pencils, pens, binders, folders, notebooks, and every bit of stationary I thought I would need. This was so exciting for me, shopping for stationary.

Edward was very patient about my excitement, as a matter of fact; he seemed to revel in it. Edward was all smiles as I strolled down every aisle, picking up everything that screamed "college student".

"Hey Bella, are you planning on getting a bag to put all your supplies?" Edward asked with a smile.

"Yes, can I get a Jansport?"

Edward screwed up his face. You're a twenty year old college student, and you want a Jansport? Can't you get something a bit more mature?"

"Like what? Jansport shoulder bags are cute, big, and efficient. They last pretty long."

"What do you know about good quality? You've been locked up for two years!" Edward fired back.

I froze, and apprehension crossed his face. He just had to throw that in my face didn't he?

_You've been locked up for two years._

He made me sound like a box in an attic or something. Just when I was beginning to forget about Andre and my past life, Edward brings it up because of a stupid bag!

"Shit, Bella I'm really sorry, I wasn't thinking. That was unnecessary, I apologize."

I glared at him for a good minute, and then turned my face away from his.

"Let's just get what bag you think would be best, to avoid further conflict." I snapped.

"No, I insist that you get what you prefer. I shouldn't have spoiled your fun. I insist."

I nodded, but my mood was already deflated. We went to the cashier in an awkward silence, and I waited while Edward paid for everything.

I felt guilty for being mad at him, since he was paying for _my _things, but, I didn't know how to get out of it.

He went ahead of me to the Jansport store, and once we entered, I stared open mouthed at everything. It was bag heaven for me!

After a lot of contemplation and comparison, Edward and I agreed that I take a blue Jansport Air Cisco shoulder bag. I checked the price, $9.99, and I desperately wished that I could pay for it on my own. Hopefully, I would be able to get a job on campus, one that didn't require any qualifications.

We left the store in high spirits and my good mood restored. Edward steered into another store. I looked up to see the name of the store. And my eyes opened wide.

_The Converse Store, just peachy. _

"Every college student needs a pair of Converse sneakers Bella. Coming to think of it, I might buy myself another pair."

"Don't you wear slippers?" I asked Edward.

"When I go to the beach, I wear them. Other than that, I wear converse as often as I can."

"Why?" I asked again.

"Because it's cheap, comfortable, and it makes me feel sexy." He looked at me with a knowing smile. I couldn't help but laugh.

"You really like yourself don't you Edward?"

He just smiled cheekily at me, and motioned for me to follow him to the female section. I took interest in a plain, navy blue high top pair, which Edward dismissed as being too lame. He pointed to a pink pair, with a bit of detail at close to the soles.

I politely reminded him that I was not a girly person, and that for my first converse, I would prefer something plain. We argued again and again, and eventually, when I noticed that Edward was not going to give up, I took the pink, and the navy blue. He made me take blue pair to match my bag too.

We left the store, Edward smiling victoriously, and me grumbling and complaining.

"This is the first time I've seen a girl complain about getting a cool pair of sneakers Bella. A pair of converse nonetheless!"

"I don't mind getting one pair, but three? What am I going to do with three pairs of shoes?"

Edward stared at me like I was crazy.

"Well, you should try wearing them Bella. If that doesn't work out, let me know immediately so I can think of something else. Lets go, I'm hungry."

We went to the food court for a quick lunch. I took something cheap, because Edward was spending way too much money, and I was not a greedy person. A small burger and fries, and a small drink would suffice until I arrived home.

Edward on the other hand wanted a heaping slice of lasagna, fried chicken, mixed vegetable, baked potatoes and fresh salad.

I just shook my head while he grinned at me, as though he could read my mind.

"So after we eat, we should go get your new wardrobe." Edward said while we ate.

I rolled my eyes. I already had clothes from Alice, and I didn't need anymore. I didn't feel comfortable with Edward spending more money on me. It was just, weird now.

"Bella please relax. If I couldn't afford it, don't you think I would let you know?"

"We will go to a thrift shop please, for my sanity."

"Whatever you say", he replied as he dug into his food.

It bothered me the way Edward talked to me like, like we were related. I know he said that he saw me like a cousin, but it still bothered me. All day, I just had no effect on him. He probably has a secret girlfriend that lives far away.

He didn't even push me to buy expensive things, like a boyfriend, or someone who was in love with you would do.

_Did I just suggest that I wanted Edward to be in love with me? No, it was just a figment of my imagination._

Edward gobbled down his gourmet meal ten minutes before me, and he filled the silence by listening to music on his phone.

"Okay Edward, I'm finished. We can call Alice now." I said.

"Not so fast Bella, we still have to go to the "thrift store", then I have to go to a music shop, then we can leave."

I rolled my eyes.

"N'importe quoi Edward. Je ne me soucie rien. » I replied (A**/n: Whatever Edward, I don't care anymore)**

"I have no idea what that means, but I'll take it as a yes!" He said excitedly.

I gave him a pointed look that made him shut up. He showed me to a large open store with a lot of clothes that screamed "cheap". I smiled at Edward in delight, but he screwed up his face in disgust.

"Here's five hundred dollars. Get whatever you need and I'll be back in half hour."

"Where are you going?" I asked him

He was already wheeling outside when he called to me behind his back.

"I told you I wanted to go to the music store, it won't take very long."

I nodded, and then looked at the vast supply of quality, affordable clothes. It shouldn't be hard spending five hundred dollars, right?

I took a look at some denim dresses. They were $12.99 each, so I took three, each in a different pattern.

I had a lot of Jeans from what Alice gave me, but I still tried on two more, just in case, and added those to my trolley. Next, I picked up twenty T-shirts, ten tank tops, six skirts and four sweaters. I put those aside for school, and paid for it.

The cashier looked at me quizzically when I took my bags and walked right back into the store with my bags, but I knew why I did that. I wanted to get a dressier wardrobe, in case I had to go out on any dates and whatnot.

I blushed when Edward's face flashed across my mind. I selected more dresses with floral prints, stripes and polka dots, a pair of skinny jeans, three dress shirts, some satin blouses, and a denim mine skirt.

I still had one hundred and fifty to spend, so I got two sandals, one pair of very low heels, and some costume jewelry.

Fifteen minutes later, I was done with my shopping. It wasn't half bad actually, but I wasn't in a hurry to do it again.

Edward came back in a half hour, as he said he would, and looked at the bags in my hand with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"I'm assuming you had quite a lot of fun didn't you Bella?"

I just laughed and threw my arm around his shoulder as we left the store.

"Can we please call Alice now?" I begged.

"Yes, as long as there's nothing else you need."

"I think I have everything covered, so let's go home, please, with a cherry on top." I replied.

Edward smiled at me, and I swore my heart was beating so loud that anyone could hear it. My blush crept right up to my cheeks, and I returned a small smile, just for him. He patted my hand, which was still on his shoulder, and took his phone to call Alice.

The pat on my hand felt as though he was silently saying, _sorry, but I'm already taken. _

We met Alice at the northern entrance of the mall, and three of us entered her car silently. I remained quiet for the entire drive, despite Edward's attempts to pull me into conversation. Eventually, Alice got fed-up, so she attached her I-pod to her stereo and turned the volume up to the absolute highest level.

Edward looked back at me with a weird look on his face, as though he didn't understand the reason behind my silence. I was glad that he didn't because that would have been difficult to explain.

_Hey Edward, I'm a bit upset with you, because earlier today at the, mall you displayed no signs of affection towards me. I really like you, and I'm hurt that you don't feel the same way._

I don't think so.

I had a feeling he would want to talk about it when we got home though, and that is why lying was invented.

We arrived home soon enough, and the moment Edward climbed into his chair, he wheeled up beside me and whispered those dreaded words.

"Bella, we need to talk."

The conversation wasn't as bad as I thought it would have been. After I settled down a bit, and put my clothes in my room, Edward knocked on my bedroom door.

"Is something wrong Bella?" He asked. "You were fine up until we left the mall, so I'm not sure I did anything to offend you."

"You didn't do anything Edward." I lied. "I guess the reality of me attending college finally sunk in, and I got a little anxious. I didn't mean to take it out on you."

_Yes I did. _

"Anyway, I'm sorry Edward; especially after all you've done for me today."

He smiled and waved his hand dismissively.

"That's alright. Let's watch a movie or something." He told me.

I really wasn't in the mood to be close to Edward unnecessarily right now.

"Actually, I'd rather just lie down for a while." I said.

"Do you want company? I don't mind, I can read a book or something."

"No!" I blurted out. Edward looked really hurt, so I quickly added, "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, but I really, really need to be by myself right now."

Edward looked relieved, so he nodded understandingly and closed the door on his way out.

I took out all my purchases and began to sort them. I put my sweaters on hangers and placed them in the closet, I hung up my jeans, and my dresses, and I folded the T- shirts and placed them in a drawer.

After doing that, I just felt like changing around everything. The room was already fairly clean, so I just gave it a light sweep, and I wiped down everything. I got all the supplies I needed from the bathroom, and I only needed one hour to have my room smell like fresh mountain pine, and Febreeze.

All my new clothes were safely put away, next to the clothes I had from Alice. Now, there was nothing left for me to do but sleep.

When I woke up, the clock next to me said seven pm. Had I slept that long? Five whole hours! Instead of going to find Edward, I took a shower first. I pulled on my pajamas and went to the living room.

"Bella, you're awake!" Edward called from the kitchen. He and Alice were preparing dinner.

"You're in luck. Tonight is one of the rare nights that Alice decided to help me make dinner, so you're in for quite a treat."

I laughed at the glare Alice threw in Edward's direction, feeling much better after my nap. I plopped down on the couch and flipped through the channels on the television.

"Hey, I was watching that!" Alice shouted at me. "In the future, please don't hesitate to ask a question."

I put the channel back on MTV without saying a word. Edward didn't stick up for me this time, but I let it slide. I had been here for about a month, and I'd grown used to Alice's jibes at me. Besides, I was a twenty year old woman, who should've been able to handle her own fights.

Alice came into the living room and made a big show of grabbing the remote before sitting opposite me. She stared at me, without any emotion in her eyes, before she decided to speak.

"So, Bella, how've you been?" She started. "Look, I'll just cut to the chase. My parents are coming in a week, so I need to learn to _pretend_ to like you. That's the only way I can be your friend right?"

I nodded slowly; dumbfounded that she was even speaking to me.

"Great, so let's get started." She said. "We need to explain why I have a twenty year old college student friend, and why you're living here, around Edward no less. You have to understand that there're pretty uncomfortable with the idea of girls being around Edward."

"Why?" I asked shyly.

"Are you really that dense? He's been hurt, and we all want to ensure that it doesn't happen again. Is that understood?" Alice looked me straight in the eye.

I nodded again, afraid to speak, and she returned a tight smile.

"Great! That's just peachy. So I'm going to talk, and you'll listen."

Alice told me about her school, her friends, and the subjects she took, her hobbies, her favorite songs, and favorite foods. Apparently, we met at the mall, where I used to work, and I helped her find that last pair of Manolo Blanik sandals. Ever since then, we started hanging out.

When I got fired from the store, I needed a place to stay while I attended college. My parents, who lived in Washington, regularly sent me money. Wow.

She didn't hang around me much longer, she went to help Edward in the kitchen again, and then she took her food to her room. My session with Alice was officially over.

Edward didn't say much while we were eating dinner. He basically just talked about Lakeview College, and whether or not I was excited.

_I was overjoyed._

The time passed by quickly, so I retired to my room. It was easier to deal with my feelings when I was by myself, and although I felt bad for making Edward feel guilty, I just cared more about myself.

My first day at college was fairly uneventful. I basically woke up, took a shower, got dressed and headed out the door.

When I returned home, Edward asked me how my day was, and we slipped back into the casual friendly conversations that we were used to.

_I just might be able to do this._

For the first week, I did all my homework and my research diligently, and it left me with very little time to pay attention to anyone else. I had started to get my groove back. I was starting to return to that smart, focused, witty girl I was in my high school days, in just one week.

Saturday, Edward reminded me that his parents were coming. I didn't worry too much; I just figured that most of my time would be spent at Lakeview anyway.

I went through the works with Alice again on Sunday night, and she said that I was prepared to lie. I was a good liar anyway, my mother taught me.

I left for classes bright and early on Monday morning, as usual, but no amount of lying could have prepared me for what I saw when I arrived home.

Edward's parents were really, formal and polite, and yet warm and welcoming. All of a sudden, I didn't like the idea of lying so much.

Carlisle Cullen was a tall handsome man, probably in his late forties, with blue eyes, just like Alice. The only difference was that his eyes were soft and beautiful, and friendly. He had a few wrinkles, but heck, he was quite a catch.

Esme Cullen was a short petite lady, with an air of grace and elegance. The hand she stretched out to shake mine was adorned with a classy gold ring, embellished with emeralds right around it. And I shook it firmly, like I was expected to.

The only thing I didn't understand was that Edward looked noting like his parents, except maybe complexion. His eye color was strange, his hair was pitch black, and he didn't have either of his parents' nose, or ears or mouth. He was just out of place!

"So Bella, Alice tells me that you're studying French and Literature? That's pretty impressive."

"Thank you Mrs. Cullen." I replied

"Please dear, call me Esme; you make me feel so old." She said

I nodded in agreement, and she smiled at me, and it wasn't too long until we lapsed into a more comfortable conversation. Edward's parents insisted on treating all of us to dinner, so after everyone showered and got dressed, we climbed into the car and made our way to The Asian Buffet.

At the dinner table, Edward briefed his parents on his progress with the wheelchair. He said he did his training daily, yada yada, yada, and that he expected to be out of the wheelchair and using a cane soon.

_Wait, what! _

Edward was coming out of his chair soon! He didn't mention anything to me, and Alice looked just as shocked.

"Don't get too excited guys." He said."I need to get another trainer, because I can't do the exercises by myself."

"So you know what the process entails?" Carlisle asked.

"Of course I do, I did all the research I needed to do, so it shouldn't be a problem, really."

I sat silently, while everyone else smiled and touched his hand. If my emotions couldn't handle a wheelchair bound Edward, how was I going to react to him actually walking?

"I'm really happy for you Edward." I found myself saying.

"Thanks Bella." He smiled back at me.

Edward and his parents continued to talk about his upcoming "miracle" while I poked around at my food. Honestly, I just wanted to go home, and apparently my face showed it, because Alice noticed.

She scooted over to my side and started to talk to me.

"Don't worry Bella, it'll be okay. Pretty soon, you'll find a nice guy at the community college, and you'll forget all about my brother. Just please let it go, because Edward clearly has someone else on his mind."

I looked up at Alice, and for once, the cold barrier that clouded her eyes had disappeared.

"Why do you hate me so much?" I whispered.

"Because I thought you were a skank Bella. A nasty, disease ridden whore, that came to my doorstep to use my brother and I for money to buy God knows what. I guess I was wrong." She said, touching her hand to mine.

"So we're friends now?" I whispered back. "For real?"

Alice smiled in return, and I was _so _relieved.

"Of course we are, if you can forgive me?"

I smiled and nodded in response, and the tension between us lifted off. At least there was one burden off my back.

Alice and I returned our attention to the conversation before us, and I didn't miss the subtle wink that Edward sent our way.

Dinner ended shortly after, as Alice and I both had early classes the next day, and Edward muttered something about an appointment.

Needless to say, we all left Asian Buffet in high spirits, with our guts filled with Chinese food and cocktails.

After Mr. and Mrs. Cullen left, things returned to normal, and I started getting more and more accustomed to my college life. I completed all my assignments on time, I spent some time down by the lake reading, and doing research on my borrowed laptop, and once a week I met up with my study group for French.

Edward started spending more and more time outside of the house because of his training, so maintenance fell behind a bit. I asked Edward if he wanted me to cut back on my studying time at school, to clean up the place a bit, but he wanted to hire a house keeper instead.

What he did suggest was that Alice and I take over kitchen duties. How could I have refused?

His training seemed to have been going well, although sometimes, when he came home, he would be in so much pain that he'd just go straight to his room and stay there all night. He barely ate dinner at those times.

I was worried that he was pushing himself too hard, and when I confronted him about it, he told me that he had two years of taking it easy. He _wanted_ to walk.

Alice and I started to spend more time together. Sometimes she would pick me up from Lakeview so we could get some ice-cream, or a burger, or sometimes she came to do her homework with me in the Main Library.

All in all, the months flew by quickly. Alice, Edward and I became familiar with each other; it was as though we had all grown up together. We went to visit Emmett and Rosalie once, and Emmett was really glad that Alice had put her animosity to rest.

I felt like a part of their family, even though I sometimes let my _love _for Edward get to my head, and muddle my thoughts. We continued going out for dinner, but Alice came as well. I finally belonged somewhere.

_I was finally happy. _

Before long, my very first set of exams came around. I studied like crazy, spending most of my time in a secluded area, away from people. The best choice was my bedroom, and occasionally under a tree at the back of the campus.

When Edward was free, he drilled me in my Literature texts, and if Alice was bored, I let her read my French books with me. They were supportive through my hysterical moments, my doubtful moments, but eventually, the time came.

I went into those exam rooms with as much confidence as I could muster, and I did my best. I worked my ass off for two weeks, and just like that, it was over.

I only had a few more weeks left before I was allowed to go on a break, but my professors weren't really teaching anything vital to my syllabus.

Sometimes I stayed at home to help the housekeeper, much to Edward's dismay, who insisted that I should be out there having _the greatest college experience ever_, and sometimes I took a swim in the lake.

Needless to say, there was no one at home to talk to, so I hung around campus with my new "friends".

Mike Newton was something else. He wasn't in any of my classes; I had met him while I was buying lunch a few months ago. He was quite _different_ from the few guys I have met. He had a tongue ring, a red Mohawk in the midst of blue hair, and he studied electronics.

He was damn good at it too.

Mike was into astrology, and all the various tribes that had tabooed traditions, and he volunteered at an animal shelter in the city.

Leah was more my style. She was quiet, yet when it was time to debate in Literature, she stood her ground, and she had a bit of a shady past just like me. She was normal looking too, a bit on the Native American side.

Lastly, there was Seth. Seth took French and Literature with me, so we were closest out of the group. He had soft brown eyes, wavy blond hair, and a bit of a pig nose. He was still cute though.

He played guitar _and_ piano, and he was pretty darn good at it.

Today, we planned to swim in the lake, and after we dried off, we were going to catch a movie in the cinema.

I asked Alice if she wanted to join us at the cinema after school, but she said she had some "gossip" to catch up on.

After our swim, everyone piled into Seth's mini van, and we were on our way to see The Karate Kid.

As we waited in the line to get our tickets, I heard someone calling my name.

"Bella? Is that you?"

I spun around in the direction of the voice, and met a very familiar, friendly face looking back at me.

"You remember me don't you? I'm Jacob, Edward's driver."

I stared at him a little longer than necessary, without saying anything, so he must have thought that I didn't remember.

His smiled began to fade, and then it disappeared completely, before I answered.

"Of course I remember. How could I forget such a distinct face?"

Jacob blushed, and then he started to laugh.

"What?" I asked, miffed that he was laughing at my attempt at a joke.

"Nothing really." He replied. "But its not everyday that I hear a beautiful girl insinuate that I have an unforgettable face."

I thought about what I had said, and then laughed along with him.

"I suppose it is pretty funny." I said, laughing along with him.

"So what movie are you going to see?" He asked.

"Actually, the four of us are going to watch Karate Kid." I told him, introducing him to the group.

"Can I join you?" He asked shyly.

A big smile came across my face. I noticed he had said "can I join _you", _rather than "can I join _you all._"

"Nothing would make me happier Jacob." I replied.

We bought our tickets, and our popcorn, and settled into our seats. We all talked a lot while the opening credits were showing, but settled down once the movie started.

Jacob and I sat next to each other, but we didn't really talk. We did laugh a lot though. Sometimes watching a movie was more fun when we had a loud obnoxious comedian in there with us.

When the movie was over, Jacob offered to drive me home, and of course, I said yes, after bidding Leah, and the rest of them goodbye.

"So, Bella, would it be okay if I asked to see you again, whenever you're free?"

I lit up on the inside. I was getting asked on a date! By a really nice, good looking guy, who didn't have any intentions of kidnapping me!

I mustered up my most flirtatious smile, and told Jacob yes. I told him that I was free as a bird for a whole month, and some days, so we could have gone out everyday if we wanted to.

"Okay then!" He started. "How does Friday night sound?"

"Perfect. Simply perfect."

We chatted again for awhile, before pulling up to a stop in front the house. We exchanged numbers, and when Jacob drove away, I ran into the house, giggling like a school girl.

I couldn't wait to tell Alice and Leah, they were always behind me to get a date, and I got one!

When Friday morning came, I could barely contain my excitement. Alice kept laughing at me, while Edward looked at me like he though I was going mad. I needed to head to Lakeview to pick up my exam results, and normally, this would have made me nervous.

_Today, _however, the only thing I was nervous about was whether Jacob would have stood me up or not.

Alice and I left Edward at home, and she drove me there. She was going to be in school all day, but so was I.

I went to the office to get my papers, and I wasn't too surprised by the results. I barely passed, but it was still a good effort, especially for the level of difficulty the exams were set at.

One of my professors stopped me to tell me this.

"Isabella Swan. I must say that I'm impressed with your work this term. You were one of the few students that managed to pass literature this semester, so keep up the good work."

"Thank you Sir", was all I managed to say.

I walked around campus for a few more hours, trying to kill time before my date, but eventually I got bored and decided to go home.

I opened the door to find the house strangely quiet. I had thought that Edward would have been watching television, or listening to his Elvis CD, but I didn't hear anything.

I walked into the kitchen, to the living room, and I called out his name several times. I was beginning to get very worried.

A chilling suspicion sent me to his room. I stopped dead in my tracks. Edward's wheelchair was there, but there was no _Edward. _

I scanned the room again, hoping that he was lying down on his bed, or his couch or something. But he wasn't.

I ran into his exercise room, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"There you are!" I breathed, coming down next to him where he was on the floor.

He was laying face down, unmoving, and unresponsive.

_Wait a minute._

I rolled him over to face me, and his eyes were closed.

"Edward!" I screamed.

I pushed him and pulled him and hit him as hard as I could, but he wouldn't wake up. If there was one thing I had to do, it was to cancel my date with Jacob.

I managed to bring Edward to consciousness for two seconds; just enough o hear him say,

"I fell off…the…" And he closed his eyes again.

_Oh no, please be okay Edward! You've come so far! _

**Author's Note: Hello again! So, let me know what you all thought about this, I tried to speed things up in between. Should I continue writing in Bella's POV, or would you like me to switch back into third person. Quite frankly, writing in third person moves much slower, but it's your choice! Tell me exactly what you want my pretties!**

**I'll be waiting…. : -)**


	8. So that's what happened!

**Hey guys! As promised, here is chapitre neuf! This took longer than I wanted it to, but although I'm on vacation, I'm still very busy. (Face-book) LOL! Enjoy this one my pretties! Its ALL for you! **

**BPOV**

_Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! _

I couldn't believe this was happening. It had to be a dream. Just when things were turning around, fate came and slapped me in the face.

I wasted no time in calling an ambulance, and they took roughly thirty minutes to arrive. Then, I called Alice, who didn't answer her phone, so I left a voicemail. The only person left to call was Jacob.

_Jacob, who I had a date with. Oh shit. _

I sat by Edward, trying to figure how in the world this might have happened. His wheelchair was all the way over in his bedroom. Was he trying to walk on his own, unsupervised?

My eyes roamed the exercise room. Nothing seemed out of order; I didn't notice any new equipment. What in the world did he fall off of? While waiting, I called Alice's cell phone again. Still no answer. I left her another voicemail, this time; my voice was less frantic, and calmer.

The ambulance finally arrived, and I heard them at the door. I hesitated for a moment, reluctant to leave Edward's side. They knocked more urgently, and I shot up this time, afraid that they might knock down it down.

I opened the door, and showed them to the room he was in. One of the paramedics asked me to explain what had happened, but I told him that all I knew was that he "fell".

Thankfully, they didn't waste any time getting him on a stretcher. I let them know the situation with his legs, and urged them to be gentle, in case something was broken, and soon enough, I was in the back of an ambulance with Edward.

The ride to the hospital made me anxious. I just wanted to know if he was going to be okay. I wanted to know the diagnosis. And the red traffic lights weren't helping.

Eventually, we arrived at the hospital, and I was forced to stay in the waiting room. Alice came by shortly after, and she was in hysterics. The poor girl was crying, her mascara was running, her nose was, snotty. I could have related to her distress.

At least he wasn't dead, but we didn't hear from the doctors yet.

I managed to calm Alice down, and I bought her a coffee, so all we had to do was sit and wait. Two doctors came our way, and their faces were very somber looking.

_That can't be good._

Alice burst into tears again, and this time I didn't understand why, because they hadn't said anything yet.

"Are you family members of Edward Cullen?" One of them said.

"Yes, I'm his sister Alice."

"All right then." He started. "Well, I'm Doctor Sheppard **(Any Grey's Anatomy fans?)**, and this is Doctor Grey."

"Okay, whatever how's my brother?" Alice cut in.

The two doctors looked at each other, like they were trying to figure out the best way to bring across some startling news.

"Spit it out already!" I shouted.

"Okay", Dr. Grey said. "I specialize in foot therapy and healing, I'm the one who oversees Edward's therapy. I'm sure he's told you about it?"

"Well of course he's told us about it!"Alice shouted. "What I don't understand is why the hell my brother was lying on the ground, out cold, because he allegedly "fell off" of something!"

Doctor Grey looked at us shame faced, and continued speaking.

"I may have suggested to Edward that he could start doing the exercises I've been showing him, at home. That way, he would be more comfortable and at ease. What I didn't tell him that he would need a family member, or someone he trusted to supervise him, and I never expected him to start so soon."

"So you're saying that if you didn't give Edward authorization, he wouldn't have been here?" Alice asked.

"Well technically," Dr. Grey said. "But-

"I should have your ass sued for negligence! What kind of doctor are you for not giving your patients all the information they need before going forward with such a dangerous thing?"

"Alice," I warned.

"Don't "Alice" me Bella. I have been in this situation before, and I was scared shitless. The first time, it was Edward's fault. I will NOT allow these, imbeciles to pin any blame on my brother!"

"Alice!" I said more firmly. "You didn't even give them a chance to tell us how he's doing."

"You mean he's not dead?" Alice asked

"Of course not!" Dr. Sheppard said

"So, what did you want to tell us?" Alice asked shyly.

The two doctors exchanged glances, unsure as to whether they should continue. I would be scared too if I was threatened by a teenager.

I nodded at them and urged them to continue.

"The good news is that he didn't hurt his feet as much as we feared. He still has a chance of walking again, but he may have a slight limp. What I'm trying to say is, Edward can try again, if he wants to."

Alice and I gave him a look that screamed "duh!" and he continued.

"The bad news is that he hit his head pretty hard, so any rigorous exercise has to stop for at least two weeks. I know that it seems pretty minor to you, but the reason Edward collapsed was because he was overworked. His body was tired, so he basically broke down."

"Is that all?" I asked. "Can we see him now?"

"You can see him, but he may not be very coherent. "

Alice glared at the Dr. Sheppard, and that seemed to shut him up.

"Follow me."He said.

Alice and I practically raced to the room Edward was in; we just wanted to see his face.

_Well, at least I did. _

Edward was wide awake when we went in to see him. He didn't seem incoherent to me.

He was talking like normal, laughing that same, glorious laugh, his eyes twinkled the same way it always did when he was feeling smug. All I could have done when I saw him was given him a light hug. I couldn't run my hands through his hair, I couldn't massage his shoulders, and I couldn't _kiss him._

_Whoa there, wasn't I supposed to be over him?_

Yes, yes I was. As a matter of fact, I was going on a date with Jacob, _right now. _

I took out my cell phone to call Jacob, and I had eleven missed calls.

_Damn, was it that late?_

I walked out of the room to find a spot to talk to Jacob. He answered on the first ring, and I explained to him what happened.

"Gosh Bella, that's awful. Is he alright?"

"Yeah, he just woke up. Alice is there with him."

"Well if Alice is there, you could just leave and we can go out, as we planned?"

"I can't do that Jacob. Edward has done more than a lot for me, and the least I could do is be here for him."

"Can't you be there for him some other time?" He tried again.

"No! Jacob, I'll call you. I'm really sorry about this; I should have called you earlier."

There was a long period of silence, and I sighed. I felt really bad about breaking our date. It was true, Edward didn't _exactly need_ me here, but I wanted to stay, just in case.

"It's alright Bella, I understand. I hope you call me soon."

"I will." I replied softly.

I returned to the room to find Alice and Edward still chatting.

"Bella! Where'd you go? We missed you."

My heart fluttered at Edward's choice of words, and his tone of voice. I put on a brave face, and looked him head on.

"I had to make a phone call." I said.

"Oh my goodness, Bella! You forgot about your date with Jacob!"

"Don't worry Alice." I said through gritted teeth. "I just called him, thank you very much."

"Oh." She said, looking from my face, to Edward's. "Ooooohhhhh! Well, I think I want another coffee, or something that requires me to be, not here."

Alice snitched on me, and then she left me here to bask in this awkward moment with Edward. _How considerate of her._

"You're going out with my driver?" Edward asked. Strangely, there was no malice in his voice whatsoever.

"Well yes, I am. I saw Jacob when I went to see a movie with my friends."

"So why did you cancel?" Edward asked. "I hope it's not because of me?"

I swallowed. I really needed to swallow right now. Was he giving me permission? I could've sworn he would've been upset, or annoyed. I was the angry one now.

"Edward, you've just had an accident, and I gave up my evening to spend it with you. Do you think you could just say thanks?"

His eyes softened almost immediately.

"I'm sorry Bella, I didn't realize- Thank you, for sacrificing your evening to be here."

"Well, you're very welcome." I responded with a smile.

We continued to talk again for awhile. I told him about Karate Kid, and how much we laughed, and he told me how well his therapy was going, well until today anyway.

I pondered whether or not I should tell him about what the doctors had told us. Apparently they had beaten us to the punch.

"The doctors told me that my therapy would be delayed."

I looked everywhere else but at him.

"I'm just so disappointed." He continued. "I wanted to be able to walk in time for Emmett's wedding, and for Tanya." He muttered.

"Who's Tanya?" I asked curiously. I had already guessed the answer and my heart sunk tremendously.

Edward blushed tremendously. I had _never _seen Edward turn so red, in the entire time I had known him. She must be pretty damn special.

"Tanya's my ex-girlfriend. We broke up a while after my accident, because she couldn't handle it. I'm really hoping to get her back.

It sounded to _me_ that this Tanya had dumped him _because_ he ended up in a wheelchair, not because she couldn't "handle it". Edward was either delusional, or he was freaking insane for still wanting this girl.

I gave him a tight smile, and I knew for a fact that it hadn't reached my eyes.

"So, are you ready to tell me how you had your accident two years ago?"

He hesitated and scratched the back of his head.

"I'm sorry Bella, but that's a sensitive topic for me."

"So, talking about my past wasn't a sensitive topic for me too?" I asked.

"You willingly gave me that information Bella. I didn't force you to say anything."

That's not how I remembered it. The moment I arrived, Edward asked me to tell him about my past. I didn't cover the gory details, but he still knew where I came from. A few days later, he had known everything.

I was very hurt by his obvious lack of trust in me, but he didn't owe me anything. He had done all the work to make me happy and comfortable. Starting a fight with him now was just wrong and inappropriate.

I checked the time. It was only half hour after I had spoken to Jacob. Maybe I could have gone on the date after all.

I excused myself from the room, and found Alice sitting right outside. She took in my expression, and rushed to my side.

"Bella, what's wrong?"

"Nothing Alice. It's really silly."

"You can tell me. Please tell me."

"Well", I began. "I guess you can say that I'm very upset because Edward doesn't trust me enough to tell me what happened two years ago. And then there's the fact that he's head over heels in love with a girl that broke his heart." I was on the verge of tears now.

"Oh, sweetie!" Alice engulfed me in a hug. "Edward's past is a huge jumbled mess; it's not a matter of trust, but shame. He was a really bad person back then. As for Tanya, he's just lovesick and lonely."

"I'm going to call Jacob, just to see if he wants to go grab dinner or something." I told her

"What did Edward say about that? You and Jacob?"

"He didn't seem to care Alice. He said it was alright."

Alice nodded, and I told her that I'd see her later. I had to call Jacob, and beg for a date.

He had no problem coming for me at the hospital. He was genuinely happy that I had changed my mind, and so was I.

For the entire evening, my thoughts were Edward free, and Jacob had me in tears the whole time. I wouldn't mind doing it again.

We kept conversation nice and light. He asked about my parents, who I claimed were both dead. He already knew where I went to school, and it turns out that he was a student as well. He took night classes, while he drove Edward around during the day.

He was studying to be an engineer. Figures that someone like him would have wanted to make a lot of money.

It was so easy to talk to Jacob. He was warm, and friendly, and big and strong.

_He just wasn't Edward._

It was a great date that Jacob and I had, and I gave him my word that I was willing to go out with him again. Besides, I just finished my first semester so I had all the time in the world.

I stood outside the door watching Jacob drive away in high spirits. My day had started off great, and it ended just as nicely.

When Edward returned from the hospital, Alice and I were both fussing over him. We took great pleasure in doing everything for him, and not letting him out of our sights. Doctor Grey came by once or twice to check on him, and to make sure he was stretching his legs everyday.

Edward on the other hand was annoyed by his lack of dependence. He complained that the doctors told him he couldn't exercise, and he was perfectly capable of putting a spoon in his mouth. There was one day that he locked himself in his room so that Alice and I couldn't feed him.

Apparently he had s secret stash of food we didn't know about.

Edward's two weeks of rest were quickly passing by, and one day, we received an unexpected visit from Dr. Grey.

"Edward I have some good news for you. You will be able to restart your exercises next week, God's willing."

Edward's face lit up like freaking Vegas.

"For the first week, I'll need to supervise you, just to make sure you're doing it alright, and after that you're free to choose anyone else to assist you.

"That's great doctor! Thank you so much."

"Yes well, it's my job to keep you happy so, I'll get going now. See you first thing Monday morning. Goodnight Miss Bella."

I nodded at the doctor with a frown on my face. I didn't like the way he addressed me; it made me feel old.

As the day wore on, I left Edward watching TV to go out with Jacob. We saw each other almost everyday now. I directed him to Bella Italia, the restaurant that Edward and I visited, and we had a great time.

I couldn't order anything too exquisite, but at least the food was good.

By the time Sunday arrived, Edward was bubbling with excitement. I had no idea why he was so happy, because he had started the process before. I assumed he was just glad to be getting one step closer to _Tanya._ I would have liked to say that I had Jacob, but we weren't exclusive or anything. For all I knew Jacob could have been on a date right now.

Finally, it was Monday morning, and by the time I woke up, I could hear metal objects clanging in the kitchen. It couldn't possibly have been Alice, because she never made breakfast, and it surely wasn't Casper.

Who else would have woken up at seven am on a Monday to make breakfast?

Edward Cullen.

I showered and dressed and went to the kitchen to see how he was doing. Evidently he didn't want any help, so I took an apple and went outside. Edward came to join me awhile after, and we sat on the porch silently.

"Today's the big day huh?" I said.

"Not really." He answered. "I started before, then the process was delayed, and I got to start again. I've been waiting for this opportunity for the past few months, ever since I found out that I had a chance to walk again."

"Uh huh. So why didn't you try sooner? Was it because the doctors deemed it impossible?"

"Bella, the truth is that my parents felt that this was a lesson in life for me. When they came to visit me, the first thing they said was that I deserved it. Maybe they were wrong to say that, but those very words made me want to change."

I shook my head in disagreement.

"That's the worst thing anyone can hear when something so awful has happened. If I was there, I would've_" Thankfully I stopped myself before I went any further. I was about to say that I would have held him and say that everything was going to be alright.

"What were you going to say Bella?" Edward asked. When I looked at him, I wanted to see in his eyes what I felt in my heart.

Unfortunately, Edward just looked confused. I just lied and said that I would have corrected his parents, which wasn't really a lie anyway.

Doctor Grey arrived promptly at ten am, and I took it as my cue to leave the house. I would have liked to stay behind and observe what Edward was doing, but I didn't need to, so I decided to spend my time otherwise.

I grabbed a shoulder bag and threw a notebook and a pen in it, and walked down to Lakeview. Today, I was going to practice my poetry. I already didn't like it, so, since I had some free time, why not just practice it now?

I headed to the library at Lakeview and stayed there for the rest of the day. I managed to grab some lunch at the cafeteria, and I finished everything at around three pm. I called Jacob, and we went by The Dairy shack for some ice cream.

Afterwards, there was really nothing else for me to do, so I went back home. Dr. Grey was gone, Edward was asleep, and Alice was in her room.

_Everything was so boring these days. _

All there was for me to do was to turn on the television and find something fascinating to look at.

_Who was I kidding. There were only re-runs these days._

I switched off the TV and went to my room, and decided to take a nice long nap as well.

**EPOV**

After an incredibly rewarding day of exercise, I retired to my room. Nothing felt better than being able to start back my therapy. I couldn't wait to walk on my own again. My mistakes had put me in this position, and I was willing to accept that.

That's why I didn't complain about being in a wheelchair. That was why I didn't give my doctors any attitude. It was the one thing that made me turn my life around. Some people think that I did it for Alice or for my parents even, but I did it for everyone else. I resolved my ways to help people like Jasper, Donovan and even Bella.

_Bella, my sweet, wonderful friend Bella._

When I first met Bella, she was a hot mess. I have to be blunt about it; I was very hesitant to take her into my care, even though she was directed to come here by my friend at the Police Station. {**Do you guys remember chapter 1 or 2?}**

She was in quite a state. Her clothes were bloodied by God alone knows what, her body was trembling, and she was thin and pale.

My first instinct when I saw her at my window was to send her away, because I felt as though there was no way I could help her.

Surprisingly, when Alice slammed the door in her face, something registered in my head that made me change my mind.

I had only been doing this for a little less than two years, and yet I felt as though I was doing it all my life. I felt like I was never a selfish, conceited, heartless and reckless bastard, that didn't give a damn about anyone else's welfare.

The only person I had an inkling of care for was my sister Alice, because she was left in my care when my parents were gone.

_They were always gone._

I suppose I could have blamed them for the way I was, because they never took full control of me. However, Alice and Emmett were raised the same way, so I suppose it was just my fault; me and my abnormal green eyes.

I was the only person, both in the line of my mother's family and my father's family that had green eyes. It didn't even look like a combination of blue and brown, it just stood out, bright and pretty and weird. I was so much more comfortable wearing contacts. It made me feel like I was a part of the family that I was constantly putting in pain.

The only person who paid any real attention to my real eyes was Rosalie. She absolutely _loved _to see my eyes sans the contacts, so whenever I went to visit her and Emmett, I took them out. Recently, I got another reason to not wear them. _Bella _was incredibly awed whenever she looked into my eyes, like she was so willing to get lost in them.

At one time, she told me that my eyes brought so many good memories for her, of when she was happier. I was glad that I could have done that for her. She had already given me so much, even though she didn't know.

She didn't judge my abilities based on my being in a wheelchair, but rather on what I had in my heart. She didn't care too much about my past; she was only interested in the life I presently lead. The last thing that Bella gave me, for which I was so grateful for, was that she gave me friendship.

_Friendship. The one thing I never imagined I would have after landing in thin contraption was a good, solid genuine friendship. _

Bella Swan had given that to me without even knowing it. I tried to repay her in the littlest of ways. We often joked around, went to the mall, and sometimes to dinner. I still feel that she thinks I do these things out of pity, but I know that I don't.

Money was never an issue for me, or my family, and I make my own money from my online business which my parents don't know about. They keep depositing money into an account for Alice and I , but I only spend it on Ali anyway.

I observed the way that Bella began to trust me. It didn't take much, surprisingly, considering everything that she had been through. Sometimes, I compared what happened to Bella, and I felt so bad for leading the shitty life that I once did.

All I could do was remember it, and hope to forget.

**Flash back EPOV**

_I absolutely loved being seventeen years old. I was young, smart, and sexy as hell, and my parents were loaded with money. Luckily for me, they were always gone, so I was free to do whatever I wanted to do with it. _

_I was never one to get involved with drugs, but boy did I love to drink. I loved to drink, and I loved to party, and as long as I was alive and kicking, I was going to continue._

_Last night I went to a party at Sam Uley's house. He had rich parents too, and he always had ridiculously wild parties that went till four in the morning. Last night was no exception._

_I drank every alcoholic drink available, I had sex with more girls than I could count, and generally, I partied hard, all night long. _

_This morning though, I felt like total shit. I glanced at the clock. It was seven freaking thirty in the morning, and I had only gotten two hours of sleep._

_I dragged myself out of bed. I had to wake up Alice and make her breakfast. I knew I wasn't a saint, but at least I cared a tiny bit about my sister. Unlike my wonderful parents._

_I did everything I did just to spite them. Anytime I wound up in a lot of trouble, they would fly done here to "punish" me. The bonus was that Alice got to spend time with them. That was all I cared about anyway. _

***2 years later***

_I was speeding down the highway with some racecar drivers. Nothing was better than the thrill of going at full speed down a wide, empty road with a couple of idiots like me. Just yesterday, I had treated myself to an expensive sports car courtesy my parents' money._

_La di da._

_The adrenaline rush was supreme, and I held on to the steering wheel as I pushed down on the gas pedal harder and harder. Soon enough, I had passed everyone else. I checked my rearview mirror to see how many cars were behind me. _

_Quil was right under me, and Leo was trying to push me to the side. Everyone else came around me, and all of a sudden I was sandwiched between eight crazy ass race car drivers. _

_They might have been professionals, but I was a smart person. I pressed down on the pedal as fast as I could, ignoring the noise made by the engine. I sped off into the night, leaving as much of them behind as I could have. _

_Every other minute I would glimpse around to see if there was anyone there._

_Unfortunately, I didn't see what was ahead of me. In a short space of time, my brain was able to question why there was a five ton truck speeding towards me at one hundred and fifty miles an hour, this late at night. _

_That was all my brain got to process for a long, long time, because everything else went black._

**A/N: Now you know how what happened to Edward. What did you think about my first attempt at EPOV? I hope you guys weren't disappointed with it, or with the chapter. Personally, I think it was a tad bit boring, but it's all up to you guys. I'll be going to Tobago for the next two weeks, so I won't be writing. I know I'm a lazy writer, but at least its worth it….right? Love you guys! CAIO! **


	9. I Just Wanna Love You

**Yes, I know its very late, I'm a bad updater blah blah blah…Inspiration hit me in the shower, and I've been typing since then. Enjoy my pretties! **

**EPOV **

After the first flashback, all the others started hitting me one after the other. I remembered the time I broke into my father's medicine cabinet, and stole some pills that would've made me high. This happened when I was twelve.

At that age, I continued doing things that I considered harmless. I stole my dad's alcohol; I took my mother's jewelry to give to girls. By the time I turned thirteen, I was a born again rebel. My behavior kept getting worse and worse.

When I turned sixteen, and I was a horny, drunk teenager, I almost raped a girl. If it wasn't for her big brother bursting into the room and beating my ass black and blue, that would have been another deed to add to my wall of shame.

In a way, I was thankful that I had the accident, because that was when I hit rock bottom. That was the eye opener for me. That was a part of my life that I didn't want to share with anyone, especially Bella. I didn't want her to be ashamed of me, or disappointed, or afraid; not after I had earned her trust so well.

Dr. Grey was to come over for a visit today. I didn't know what he could have wanted again, but I had been doing my exercises frequently and dutifully, painful as it was.

Dr. Grey had arrived around nine o'clock this morning. Bella and I were having breakfast.

"So, Edward, I hope all is well with you."

Bella couldn't resist the urge to roll her eyes. She was probably thinking the same thing I was.

"I'm fine doctor." I responded, smiling.

"I know you're both wondering why I'm here, when you don't have an appointment with me until next month, but I have a suggestion, that I would like to consider carefully."

"Go on please." I urged. This was beginning to sound serious.

"From my experience, patients like you, and with your level of determination, have the ability to do more strenuous exercise. By doing that, your time is instantly cu in half, and you'll be able to walk before you know it. "

"What's the catch doctor Grey?" Bella asked.

"Well, this is what I'm afraid to say. The process would take a few months, and you would need someone that you trust with your very life to help you. It isn't so complicated that you would need a professional, just someone mature and responsible."

"I don't have anyone like that doctor, who would be available. Bella and Alice start school in a few months."

I looked across at Bella who seemed surprised when I said that I had trusted her with something like that. Silly girl, of course I trusted her!

"Well, if there isn't anyone at your disposal, I'm more than happy to recommend someone to you-

"I'll do it!" Bella blurted out.

I gaped at Bella as though she was steering mad. Why the heaven would she even consider doing something like that? It would mean that she would have to stop school, or at least cut back on her hours from school, just to stay here and babysit me.

_I _was supposed to be _her_ guardian, not the other way around.

"Bella, as much as I appreciate it, I can't allow you to do that. You've worked much too hard for what you have and-

"Edward, it's because of you that I have what ever it is I have. Stop beating yourself up about it and let me help you, please."

"You don't need to give me anything back, you've already given me your trust and your friendship and-

"Edward stop!"

Geez, why did she keep cutting me off like that?

"Stop being so dramatic! I'm going to enroll in the online class, and I'll be here all day helping you in whatever way I can. That's what friends are for right?"

She had me there. All this talk about friendship and I was only willing to give and not receive. How very ironic.

"Okay then. Doctor Grey, I chose Bella."

Doctor Grey nodded and gave Bella a contract to read through. I watched her carefully as she read everything, down to the fine print. She was taking all responsibility for me by signing that contract, and I was letting her. I trusted her that much.

When she finished reading and signing, the doctor gave me a similar stack of papers, but it was much smaller. I didn't bother reading it, too much work for my part.

After everything was signed and sealed, Dr, Grey left, promising me a phone call the next day.

"Thank you." I said to Bella.

"Don't mention it." She replied.

We decided to have lunch at a small restaurant on the outskirts of town. I called Jacob, who arrived half hour later, and Bella and I had our lunch there. Afterwards, we went down to the lake by the college. It was fun, for Bella and I to just hang out and exchange stories. I was trying to feel her out, to see if she'd tell me exactly why she wanted to help me, but she kept shrugging me off.

"Edward, no offence, but you're starting to get on my nerves with all the questions."

"I'm sorry Bella, but I can't possibly understand why anyone would want to sacrifice all of that for me. I'm not that great you know. You may consider me to be a great person, but I'm not."

"Edward, don't be so hard on yourself, please. I care about you so much, and your wellbeing means the world to me."

I stared back at Bella, taken aback by the intensity that came in her gaze. What was that look I saw in her eyes? Was it adoration? Was it- love?

No, that's impossible.

I was starting to feel uncomfortable, so I broke the gaze, and looked away. Bella didn't let me get away so easily. She came up beside me and placed her hands, which were so very soft, on mine.

"You deserve a second chance Edward. Whatever you did wrong, you paid for it already. I'm sure God's forgiven you, so its time to forgive yourself. **{I Just Wanna Love You-Strange Familiar is a nice song for this moment.} **

Bella continued with her speech.

"If you trust me Edward, you'd let me do this one thing for you, please.

I looked away, still not convinced, and a little annoyed that she was now _begging. _

Then she started to sing. I didn't even know Bella could sing.

_Take the blame off your back_

_It's a burden you don't own_

_Lay your head in my arms_

_And I will be your home_

_I just wanna love you_

_I don't wanna change you or judge you_

_I just wanna love you, but darling_

_You have to learn to love you too._

"I didn't know you were a singer." I said to her, smiling. "I feel a little better now. Thanks Bella."

"You're welcome." She said. "Whenever you're in a bad mood, I can sing to you, right?"

"I'd like it if you sang to me all the time." I replied

Bella blushed, and looked away, which was something she seemed to be doing a lot of lately. I needed to change the subject.

"So how's Jacob? I noticed the two of you were pretty quiet in the car today."

"Nothing happened really, it's just been a while since we went on a date. We're not together or anything."

I breathed a sigh of relief, and of course Bella noticed.

"He isn't that bad!" Bella retorted, laughing.

"No, but he isn't good enough for you either."

"Who's good enough for me then?" Bella asked.

"Well I would've said me, but I can't walk." I joked.

I could've sworn that I heard Bella say _"I wouldn't care." _

Bella started helping out two weeks after doctor Grey came. He stayed with us for three hours, making sure that Bella got the hang of things, and then he left. We were on a lunch break, laughing around and joking.

"So when are we going to get you out of this thing?" Bella asked.

"By the way things are going; I'd say I can practice walking in about two to three months."

"Are you excited?"

"Are you kidding?" I said. "I'm totally stoked Bella! I mean, after two years, I get to learn to walk _again_!"

Bella started to laugh at me, and at first I was confused, until I realized that she was laughing at the way I had sounded.

I was talking like a Californian teenager. How nice, although I did laugh along with her.

"I'm even more excited that I might be able to walk down the aisle for Emmett's wedding in December. I'm really glad that you'll be there to help me Bella.

"Am I invited to this wedding?" Bella asked sheepishly.

"Of course you are. You can even be my date, I mean escort, I mean-"

"It's okay Edward. I can go as your guest." She said simply.

"Yeah, that should save me a lot of questions about Tanya."

As soon as the words came out of my mouth I regretted it. The last thing I wanted Bella to think was that I was using her help to get back with Tanya.

"Who's Tanya?" She asked. I could hear the fear in her voice. It was like she already suspected who Tanya was. I waved off the question with the best answer I could come up with.

"She's just an old girl-friend, she's the only girl my family was formally introduced to, and they don't really know that we broke up. I'd prefer if they didn't pry, and if they thought the two of us were together, they might ask some unnecessary questions."

"You weren't too worried about that when you wanted to trick your parents were you." She said it, like she was stating a fact. She knew I was lying, and I hurt her feelings.

"Tanya's a sensitive topic for me Bella." I tried again.

"Everything's a sensitive topic for you isn't it? And my mind is a friggin library for you to come and read as you please." She finally looked at me.

_If looks could kill, I would've died three times already. _

I couldn't help it, I had to look away.

"Can we just call Jacob and go home please? I believe this heart to heart conversation is over."

Bella said not another word as she stood up, and walked straight past me.

"I'll let Jacob come down to help you up the hill." She said over her shoulder.

W.O.W. This was the first time, in a long time since my accident that anyone got truly angry with me. Sure, I had my quarrels with Emmett or Alice, but _they_ usually apologized to _me._ Everyone always walked on eggshells around me, and I got used to it. I had actually kind of liked it. Bella being angry with me made me feel, numb.

I sat down under the tree, waiting for Jacob to arrive. Five minutes passed, then ten minutes, and eventually half an hour. I presumed maybe Jacob was caught in traffic, so I gave him a call.

"Hey Jacob, its Edward, where are you? Bella and I have been waiting for almost an hour!"

"What are you talking about?" He replied. "You never called me to say you were finished."

"So Bella never called you?" I asked.

"She did call me; she said she was walking home, and that whenever you felt like it you were going to call so that I can come for you. She said something about coming down to the lake to help you come up the hill?"

I couldn't respond right away. I wasn't even sure how I was feeling. I was mad as hell that Bella played such a dirty trick, and yet I was also, impressed. She was really mad, and she didn't give a damn that I was in wheelchair. She actually used that to get back at me.

_Impressive._

All the same, she was wrong, and she shouldn't have done that, so I prepared myself to blow a gasket in her when I went home.

Jacob arrived shortly after my little rant, and I sulked the whole ride back, although it was quite short. I all but slammed the door when Jacob helped me out.

"Bella! Where the hell are you? How could you just pick yourself up and leave?" I shouted when I saw her.

"That was a really selfish, inconsiderate, and immature thing to do!"

Again, Bella just looked at me, without uttering a sound. This irritated me further.

"Just because I don't want to share every detail of my life with you, doesn't mean you can take advantage of my- situation."

"What situation exactly? You've been in that stupid wheelchair for two years; you still had a perfectly loving family to support you through the ordeal.

"You're too accustomed to everyone treating you like you're made of china. Then I come along, and I overlook everything. It wasn't just because I was grateful for your compassion, but because that's the kind of person I am. So, pardon me if I get a little upset when I find out that all this time you've been sucking me dry of friendship and love!"

Bella's words really made me hit the roof. How could she say I was sucking her dry, when I gave her everything?

"You ungrateful, spiteful little girl! I feel like sending you right back where you came from. Why the heck did you come here to mess up my life?"

I didn't realize what I had said until Bella lost her defensive stance. She looked at me for about a second, and her expression made my heart break. With those words I had said, all the emotions that she had hidden so well from me just came in a big jumble, and it showed.

She looked so weak, so helpless, so battered, and so abused.

I had tried to go after Bella, but she ran up the stairs, knowing full well that I couldn't come after her. What was I thinking, saying something like that? I didn't even mean it. I didn't mean any of it, because she was right, and I was wrong.

Now, if she would only listen to me, I would apologize, and we could be able to move on. Unfortunately, as the week wore on, I saw that that was hardly the case. Bella didn't even look in my direction. She had reached a completely different low, to the way she was when she had arrived. I felt ridiculous now. I brought her here to make her feel cared for and accomplished, but instead I just broke her-everything.

The next week, I had become fed up of the silent treatment. Bella had moved from upstairs and back into her bedroom, so I could've gone and spoke to her if I wanted to. I needed to resume my exercise, and I also needed to get her forgiveness and trust.

Tuesday afternoon, after I had worked up the nerve to go talk to her, and I planned out my speech, I knocked on her door.

"Come in", came a soft voice.

Bella looked up from the book she was reading to stare at me. All she did was stare, with the most unreadable expression.

"Hey there." I said softly.

Bella gave me some semblance of a smile, and nodded at me.

"I came in here, to apologize to you, Bella."

"What took you so long?" She asked. "Were you afraid I was going to bite you?" She almost laughed. _Almost._

"Look Bella, everything you said to me was true, I was a real jerk and-"

"No it wasn't." Bella interrupted me, sitting up now. "Everything I said wasn't true. You aren't really sucking me dry are you? It's something else, something more than that."

"Maybe", I said softly. "But you still deserve an apology."

"I'm sorry if you're sorry." She said.

"I'm sorry Bella." I said with a smile.

"Good." She replied. "Very good."

I sat down next to Bella, and took her hand in mine. I had something I needed to tell her, and I felt as though if I didn't say it now, I would never get the chance.

"I want to tell you the story behind me and this wheelchair Bella."

She looked at me intently, as though she were trying to figure out my motives. I tried to keep a soft, relaxed expression, but my nerves were in a gigantic mess. After her reaction to me last week, how was she going to deal when she heard this story?"

"Edward, I'm not a judge, I'm just here to listen, and to give you a hug if you need one."

I looked at her again, took a deep breath, and started from the time I cursed my parents. After I told my story, I was in tears. Bella, my wonderful friend Bella, took my face into her arms, and allowed me to cry out every bit of pain, regret and sorrow that I had bottled up inside me.

**Two Months Later**

**Bella's POV**

"Come on Edward, wake up! Today's the big day!"

"What are you talking about?" He said groggily

"Doctor Grey is coming over today, to take you to the hospital remember? So you can start your new therapy, where you learn to _walk _again?"

Edward shot up from bed like a bullet. His hair, which was still soft and gorgeous as ever, fell across his eyes. He pulled me to his chest and squeezed my face playfully. Ever since we had that little talk a couple months ago, our relationship had changed. We grew closer, and more comfortable around one another.

Hence the reason Edward felt it was alright to fan his morning breath in my face.

The past few months were tedious for the two of us, but especially for me. While Edward was in his room sleeping peacefully, I was on my computer trying to finish my assignments and send them to my professors on time.

There was a period where I was with Edward for most of the day. Alice needed help with her internal assessment for French; I had three exams to study for, and my Literature lecturer was badgering me for a speech that he wanted _me_ to write for him. As honored as I was, I told him that I had to pass up the opportunity.

Edward was the most aggressive, impatient person I've ever had to deal with. If he fell down, and that was a lot, he would slap my hands away, and sit on the ground with an angry pout, until I got annoyed and left the room. When I came back, he was usually in the same position, but just listening to his I-Pod.

After I took his I-Pod away, he never refused my help again.

Despite all the rough times we faced, I also had a lot of fun. When Alice was at home, she would come in and "take over my shift", while I took a nap, or watched television. She didn't have to do much. She just had to supervise Edward and make sure that he didn't overwork himself, or strain his muscles. He was easy on Alice, but he saved all the chats for me.

"I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you Bella."Edward said, snapping me out of my reminiscing. "You have to come visit me everyday, do you promise?"

"I promise." I said. "Now can you please let go of me and get ready?"

Edward flashed me his signature smile. The one that made my heart beat faster, and caused my insides to move around.

"What would I have done without you?" He said seriously.

After doctor Grey arrived, all four of us went to the hospital. Alice, Edward, the doctor and I sat in the back of an ambulance, which I found completely unnecessary. However, since Jacob couldn't make it, because he was avoiding me, we had to resort to this.

We finally reached the hospital, and I all but flew out the door. I moved to get Edward out; I had learnt how to maneuver his wheelchair.

"Alright then." Doctor Grey said. "Lets all go inside, take a look at the paperwork, and Edward can have a go at this."

"Hooray." I said dryly, but giving Edward a thumbs-up sign.

Alice came up behind me, and put her head on my shoulders.

"I'm so scared Bell. What if he can't do it? What if his legs keep giving out?"

"Be a little positive Alice. Don't let your brother see you like this. He needs all the strength he can get right now."

"You're right", she said. "Have I told you lately that I loved you?" Alice sang.

I laughed at her attempt to sound cheerful.

"More than enough Alice, _More than e-more than enough!"_

"Okay! You can stop with the songs now! I'm all cheered up!" Alice giggled.

We continued like that for awhile, trying to talk to each other by singing different parts of songs that we knew.

"What's so funny?" Edward asked, while Alice and I were bent over in hysterics. "I could use a joke right about now."

"What's wrong? I asked

"The doctor's say that I'm fit enough to start, and they want me to stay from today.

"That's great news!" Alice said. "Now you have even more time to practice."

"I guess so." Edward said half heartedly. "But I wanted us to have big lunch together, before I left."

"Quit being so dramatic Edward." Alice replied. "It's only a two hour drive, and we'll b able to call you everyday, and visit on weekends. Besides, you'll be out of here by October, or November."

"Alright then!" I jumped in. "In an effort to lift Edward's bad mood, how about we just order a big pizza, and have a little picnic, right here. The hospital campus is really pretty, and there are benches outside, right next to a fountain."

"You noticed all that?" Edward asked.

"I took a quick walk while Alice was flirting with the male nurse."

Alice gave me a pinch on my shoulder. It felt more like a kiss from a butterfly.

The three of us had our pizza under the clear blue skies, in the hospital "garden". Well at least that's what everyone called it. After that, we joked around for awhile, not wanted to take even a minute for granted.

When the time came for us to leave, and for Edward to be checked into his room, we all took a stroll to the fountain, and each of us made a wish.

I just wished for Edward to come out of this with everything he wanted, and more.

**Alright then my pretties, I finished chapter ten, at 1:31 am, I finished this chapter just for you to read it when you wake up. For those of you reading this late at night, go to bed, and sweet dreams. If you just woke up, Good Morning, and have a blessed day!**

**Leave me a review please darlings, after all, my writing is just for you, and a review only takes less than a minute. **


	10. Homecoming

**Hello my darlings! For those of you who are upset at my lateness, I do apologize. Without further ado, please enjoy chapter eleven :-)**

APOV

I had always imagined that when Edward went off to his therapy, I would've been all alone in the house, with nothing much to do. I assumed that maybe Edward might have sent me by Emmett, so I wouldn't have to be by myself.

As for Jasper, by now I had gotten over my unjustified hatred towards her about that incident. She told me that she saw Jasper around the university campus sometimes, and he seemed pretty nice to her. Boy was she ever wrong.

Ever since Bella came around, everything in the house seemed lighter, happier and more productive. At first, I was really weary of her, mostly because of her past, and because of the way she looked at Edward. My first instincts were that she would have just been another Tanya, coming in to break my brother's heart, leaving him at the first sign of trouble.

After they got used to each other, Edward was smiling more often, and he was constantly happy. Usually his routine was more methodical. He would wake up, make breakfast, exercise, make lunch, and exercise some more, make some phone calls, make dinner, then go to bed. We rarely got to have fun as brother and sister, Edward being so selective with the sharing of his innermost feelings.

I felt really bad for Bella, who had fallen hard for my brother. Edward was so absorbed in his heartbreak, and getting back Tanya, that he couldn't see what was right in front of him. Bella waited on him hand and foot, and accepted him for him. She wanted the whole package, green eyes, wheelchair and all. She tried to make the pain go away by dating Jacob, but he wasn't good enough for her anyway.

We were going to visit Edward in the hospital today; it was two months since we'd last seen him, despite our promises to visit on weekends, and we only had brief phone calls. I was totally looking forward to seeing him, and watching his progress. I wish Bella could have gone to see him sooner, but she couldn't drive, we were both so caught up in final exams, and I had graduation coming up. Edward was actually allowed to have one week's leave so he could come home to see me graduate.

After having some cereal, I knocked on Bella's door to see if she was ready to go. I told her to get ready for eight' o clock, because the drive was already so long. When she didn't reply, I opened the door to find her fast asleep, drooling on her books.

"Bella, wake up." I nudged her softly. "We're going to visit Edward today remember?"

No response, whatsoever. I contemplated whether or not I should have left her to sleep. She had been working pretty hard all week, between getting the house cleaned up and completing her assignments. I chose to let her sleep; she would have seen him when we got back home, and she would have been much more coherent.

I scribbled a note quickly and left it next to her.

_Hey Bella, I've gone to pick up Edward. See you in a few hours, when you're fresh and awake. Call me if you need anything, and don't be mad, I wanted to let you get some sleep. Alice_

That was all I needed to say before I took my car keys and dashed out the door. Hopefully, I would be able to beat the traffic, and still have time to pick up some decent breakfast for my brother. I stopped by a small coffee shop in the city, and bought a few bagels and a portion of bacon and eggs. (**A/n I wish I could be eating this now)**

When I finally arrived, feeling a bit hassled from all the traffic bad driving, I practically ran into the hospital to meet Edward. I had no idea where he would be, so I basically walked really quickly to the information desk. There was a young woman, maybe in her late twenties sitting there on the phone. I wasted no time talking to her when she was finished.

"Excuse me, I'm here to see Edward Cullen, he's a patient on the therapy ward." The young lady stared at me, scrutinizing my appearance, as though she were trying to figure out who I was to Edward.

_It's a good thing I didn't bring Bella then._

"What's your name miss?" She asked with too much attitude. He was only there for two months, and already there were nurses and receptionists trying to stake their claim on him.

"Cullen." I said firmly. "His _baby sister, _Alice Cullen."

Her eyes opened in recognition of our slight resemblance, and she turned red, obviously ashamed at her previous behavior. She motioned for me to have a seat in the waiting area, while she made another call.

"Mr. Cullen's doctor said that they'll be coming done here to meet you, so just sit and wait. You can eat your breakfast if you'd like, just don't make any mess."

"I'll wait for my brother before I eat thank you very much", I told her, signaling the end of our conversation.

I picked up a magazine about breast cancer, flipping through the pages nonchalantly. There were so many things my brother and I had to catch up on, and I certainly had to tell him about the receptionist's infatuation with him. I know for a fact that we would have a time laughing at that!

"Alice!"I heard a voice call. I looked up only to see Edward coming towards me, using a walker. After two long years, my brother was walking again. I didn't mind the walker; he still had two more months to practice. I jumped up to meet him, breast cancer magazine forgotten, and proceeded to run to him.

"Wait!" He stopped me. "Let me come to you." He came towards me carefully, closely followed by a man who I assumed to be his doctor or trainer or whatever. When he finally reached the tip of my toes, he removed his hands from the walker, and leaned down to hug me.

I couldn't help it. Tears came to my eyes. I was so overcome with emotion, and so proud of Edward, and the obvious improvement he had made. I couldn't even begin to imagine how much hard work he put in to reach to this stage.

He stood hugging one another tightly for what seemed like ages, before he pulled away and put his hands back on the walker again.

"I really miss hugging you like that!" I laughed

"Me too!" He said. "Hey, where's Bella?" He said, sounding panicked. "Didn't she want to come?"

"Relax Edward; she was still sleeping when I left."

He frowned at the wall behind me.

"You could have woken her up."

"Have a heart Edward; she's been working her tail off all week. I honestly don't know how she managed to pull of cleaning the house, and getting her work done. She must really care about you huh?"

"We care about each other." He replied dramatically. "That's why it would've meant a lot if she had come here first. It wouldn't be the same meeting her at home."

"You sound like such a lovesick teenager, geez. We'll see her in a few hours you know. It's just Bella."

I threw in the whole "lovesick teenager" and "its just Bella", to see if I would have gotten a reaction out of him, but he just nodded and stayed quiet. We went out into the garden to eat breakfast, and when we were ready to go, the doctor explained to me how to get Edward in and out of the car, just in case we ran into any problems.

We spoke non stop on the drive. Edward asked me about school, I asked him about his flock of nurses, which he denied heavily. As we drove into our area, I wondered what Bella was doing.

**BPOV**

When I rolled off my bed at ten am, I literally wanted to kick myself, especially when I saw Alice's note. I had really wanted to go to the hospital, and meet Edward there, but I had overslept. At least my exams were over, and I had all the free time in the world. As a matter of fact, I would have gotten to spend the entire week with him.

After taking a shower, I called Alice to find out where she was. They were still at the hospital, and they were leaving in five minutes. By the time they came back, I'm pretty sure they would've been hungry, so I dug through the cupboards to find something to make.

I started to doze off before I heard a car pulling into the driveway. I all but sprinted to the door to come and greet Edward, and Alice of course. I peeked through the curtain, and I saw Edward getting out of the car. He placed his feet on the ground, clad in a black and white converse. **(A/n don't u love a guy in a converse?) **Not too long after, Alice came around, and put a walker in front of him.

_Holy moly he can almost walk on his own! _

Edward came out of the car, finally, and I watched in awe as I saw him stand up to his full height. I had enough of peeking through the window, so I ran to open the door, almost knocking Edward over as I ran to hug him.

"Bella!" He said happily. "It's really great to see you."

"I really missed you." I said.

We remained hugging for a few more seconds, before I had to let go and let him go inside the house. When he came in, I turned around to look at him properly. His black hair was still soft and luscious as usual, though it was a bit longer. His green eyes blazed as he took in his surroundings, full proof that he missed home. The thing that shocked me the most was his height.

Edward standing up tall was nothing as I imagined it to be. I knew he was tall and strong, but my imagination was far too minimal to grasp what he would look like out of that chair. I beginning to see the young boy from the pictures, and the person Alice described him to be.

I was so immersed in my thoughts that I hadn't realized that Alice had left the room, leaving Edward and I stand around awkwardly. It had been so long since I'd actually seen him, and seeing him standing up, towering over me was quite overwhelming. The blush that threatened to escape me wasn't helping the situation either.

"So, are you hungry?" I finally asked.

"Actually, I'm pretty famished." He replied. "Do you want to order a pizza?"

"Again?" I teased. "It's okay, I made lunch."

We _both _walked into the kitchen, where we helped ourselves to the food I made. Alice came down to join us, and we all enjoyed a delightful plate of food. As I sat down eating, I zoned out of the pleasant conversation, and imagined what it would be like when Edward was completely healed.

Would he learn to drive again? Would he help me learn to drive? Would we go out more often? Would he-

"Care to tell us what's on your mind Bella?" Alice said with a knowing smile. Alice was the only one who was aware of my obvious infatuation with Edward. I often wondered if he knew, or if he was just that stupid.

"I was just thinking about Edward." I replied honestly.

"Yeah, what's new?" She joked.

If there was ever a time where I had to feel the most embarrassed, it would have been now. Two pairs of eyes were on me. Alice looked smug, and Edward looked confused, as usual.

"What I meant was that I was imagining him without his walker, sometime in the near to distant future!"

"I prefer the term "near future" thank you very much." Edward said. "This tastes great Bella, by the way."

"Thanks." I said. "All that time you've been away I was brushing up on my cooking skills. I'll never be as good as you though, will I?"

"Of course not", He said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You've tasted my Italian, among other things. You'd think you would have learnt your lesson by now."

We continued to laugh and joke around, and unbeknownst to us, Alice had already gotten up and left us, _again. _Edward started to clear the table, but I didn't let him.

"It's your first day home. Relax a little bit!"

"Bella, I can finally use my legs again, and I want to show off by helping you clean up."

"You can show off tomorrow please God, right now I want you to tell me about your last two months away from me-I mean us!"

I always knew how to sell myself out by blushing. He wouldn't have noticed a thing if I didn't blush, but I did it anyway.

"You can't make one mistake without blushing can you?" Edward asked. "That is so typical Bella."

"What can I say", I whispered. "Everything about you makes me blush."

"What are you talking about?" Edward asked.

"You really don't understand do you? I asked.

"No, I don't. Explain please. Now." Edward leaned up next to me on the counter as I washed the dishes. He gazed with me with far too much intensity than he usually did, and I was getting uncomfortable.

"I'm not ready to tell you yet." I said softly. "I'll tell you when the time is right."

"Tell me what Bella? I'm very confused. You've been acting weird all day."

"I said I'll tell you when I'm ready!" I shouted.

Was it really necessary for him to badger me like that? Couldn't he tell how uncomfortable I was saying anything? It's not like it was hard to figure out. Edward had experience with girls, so it shouldn't have been hard for him to guess. I had come to two conclusions. He was either incredibly stupid or his attention was taken up by someone else.

"I'm sorry Bella." Edward finally said. "Whenever you want to talk you know where to find me. Just try to do it before I leave,and before you go mad."

"You want to watch some TV?" I asked, ignoring his last comment. "I think they're showing 2012, we should watch it again."

For the rest of the day, we both sat down just being us. We were in an easy silence, just enjoying one another's company, and watching movies. He didn't mention my behavior earlier at all, and for the most part, I was grateful. He had cared enough to badger me relentlessly, and he cared enough to leave me alone.

**EPOV**

Coming home felt really good. It was a relief to be out of that hospital and away from the nurses, and the _everyone else_ that constantly nagged me, and harassed me every single day. I got to see my sister, and of course, Bella. When I saw Alice, I got suspicious when I didn't see Bella with her.

_She didn't leave did she?_

Alice said that she was at home, and I was disappointed that she didn't come here to see me. Wasn't I important or good enough?

Seeing Bella for the first time in two months was different to say the least. I was nervous to see her as we pulled into the driveway, but after she ran into me as I got out the car, things felt normal again. I studied her as I entered the house. Her hair got longer, she had gained a little more weight, but in a good way.

Her eyes were shining, and her face was flushed, as it always was when she was around me. She had a special smile for me too. I noticed a few months a go when we started to get closer. Alice got the "you're so silly but you're still the best" smile. When she did see Jacob, she got the "I'm happy to see you but this is still awkward" smile, and I got the- what kind of smile did I get?

When she smiled at me, it connected to her eyes, and they twinkled. It was genuine, and filled with emotion, just like her voice. I was confused, and it didn't help that Bella had confused me even more. She had something to tell me, and I had no idea what it was. She had been sending secret messages to Alice all afternoon.

Sitting down on the sofa next to her gave me quite a lot of time to think. What did she have to tell me that was _so difficult _for her to say? I considered asking her about it again, but she was looked content enough to just sit down and watch movies.

I decided to just leave well alone, before she flipped her lid on me again. I pulled out my cell phone to text Emmett.

**Hey Em, I came home for a week. You up for a visit?**

_Really?I can't wait to see you bro. I'll bring Rosalie too._

**Great, I can't wait to see her…and you**

_Is Bella still there?_

**Of course! Where would she go, she's right next to me actually.**

_Oh, so you guys finally a couple then?_

**What are you talking about? We're really good friends, what more could we ask for?**

_You're still strung up on Tanya aren't you?_

**You think?**

_That explains it._

**Explains what?**

_Nothing. I'll see you Wednesday. :-)_

**You are so gay. A smiley face dude? :-/ **

_Toodles __sweaty__ pie. I wuv you!_

I closed my phone after my conversation with Emmett. I wanted a distraction, and yet, he made me feel just as perplexed as I was before. Emmett asked if Bella and I were _finally _a couple. What was that supposed to mean? He knew I was still pining for Tanya, and as far as he was concerned, Bella was just, well Bella.

I leaned my head on her shoulder, and played with her hair. Her eyes remained fixed on the television, and she didn't move a muscle.

"I just texted Emmett", I started. "He asked if we were a couple."

"Why would he ask that?" Bella replied in a monotone

"I was hoping you could tell me."

Bella shifted uneasily against me, before she relaxed and allowed me to continue leaning against her.

"Bella, I've just decided something. You're absolutely, positively, my best friend."

"I know." She smiled. "Trust me, I know."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Let's just say I'm really observant." Bella replied with a sigh.

We continued to laze around in the living room, until it started to get dark. Bella retreated to her room to have a shower, and I did the same. It was always nice having Bella to talk to, but sometimes I needed some time to myself. I'm pretty sure Bella feels that way occasionally, but tonight, it seemed more like she was determined to get away from me. I didn't have a choice but to brush the thought away and find another way to entertain myself. I hadn't spent much time with Alice for the day, so with much determination, and a very slow speed, I walked up the stairs to her room.

I found Alice lying on her bed using her laptop, with her hands on the keyboard and the phone to her ears. She sounded like she was babbling something off to Rosalie.

"I swear Rose, he's just so blind and oblivious! Even I could see it. How sad is it that I, the slowest one in the bunch could've noticed that, but not him? Yeah, he is pretty hung up over that girl.

Who could she possibly have been talking about?

"I never understood how someone could penetrate anyone so much, that two long years passed and yet they're still snuffing around after them like a stupid puppy.

So this was a conversation about me, _and _apparently I was stupid too. Just great.

"I know right! He got hurt, and yet he is determined to get her back. Why would anyone-"

I had decided to make my presence known by clearing my throat, not wanting to hear anymore. If Alice knew that I was standing there, she didn't show it.

"I'll call you back Rose. Later"

I hovered in the doorway for a while, until she motioned for me to come in. I hadn't been in Alice's room in forever. Occasionally, when it was absolutely necessary, I would have someone carry me up. However, that action was quite demeaning and it took a hit on my ego, and I just decided to do everything downstairs.

"You made it to the forbidden land brother. Welcome to my forte." Alice said with a smile.

"Thanks, so what were you talking to Rosalie about?" I questioned.

"Nothing." She hesitated. "Just normal girly stuff. She can't wait to meet Bella. I've told her everything about her."

"You didn't tell her about her past did you?" I asked alarmed.

"Of course not! I hardly know anything about it anyway."

An awkward silence ensued, and Alice returned her attention to her computer. I left Bella alone because I felt like I was making her uncomfortable, and it was rubbing off on me, and now, Alice was making me feel uncomfortable too.

"Anything in particular you wanted to talk about brother?" Alice asked.

"Actually, there is," I replied. "How would you feel if I said I wanted to get back together with Tanya?"

"There's nothing to say Edward. I already know that. We all know that. Especially Bella."

"What does Bella have to do with anything?" I asked.

"That's for me to know, and for you and your dense little brain to find out."

I sighed exasperatedly, feeling quite fed-up of all the mind games everyone was playing with me from the moment Bella arrived here. It had gotten worse when I came back this morning, and I couldn't take it anymore.

"You can't honestly tell me that I haven't changed Ali. After all these years, I am a much better person than I used to be. I'm better now, aren't I?"

Alice rolled her eyes.

"There's no need to get all weepy on me Edward. We've had this conversation numerous times. Yes, you have changed for the better. No, you are not a bad person. All you need to do now is remove the stick that you have shoved up your-"

"That's enough."I cut her off. "There's no need for you to be so crass."

Alice laughed at me.

"You always were the gentleman weren't my boy!"

I joined her, her laugh being quite contagious.

Our laughs were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. Bella poked in her head.

"I heard all the laughing. Mind if I join you guys?"

"Of course not!" Alice chirped. "The more the merrier."

Bella took a spot on the bed right next to me. We were all leaned up against the bed head, exchanging stories about school, and my time at the recovery hospital. We had all gotten quite snuggly and relaxed on the bed, Bella leaning onto me with my arm casually around her shoulder.

For the first time since I had met her, I noticed how perfectly her small frame molded into mine, and how easy the entire action was. Maybe it was something that someone said, but I didn't like the way I was feeling. Not at all.

**A/n:- Hello to all my fabulous darlings! Yes, I realize that this is long overdue and ridiculously late! In my defense, sixth form (senior year for my American friends) is not all that it's cracked up to be. I do hope that it has lived up to your expectations, and more.**

**Xoxo to all my loyal readers, and to those that subscribe & favorite**

**Ciao**

**Carly**


	11. Conversations and Revelations

**Sorry I'm late, Enjoy ;-)**

**EPOV**

After much preparation, Alice, Bella and I were ready for Emmett and Rosalie's visit. Everything had worked out in pretty good timing; the wedding was five months away, and Alice and Rosalie would have been able to discuss some last minute decisions about girly wedding stuff.

Perhaps Bella would have been able to be included in the wedding party, depending on how well she rubbed off on Rosalie. I wasn't particularly worried though, because Rosalie was friendly with everyone.

I was proud to say that the house was sparkly clean, breakfast had been made and the guest rooms were organized. I was so grateful to have a big spacious house.

Alice and Bella did most of the work yesterday, so there really wasn't much to do. I sat down on the love seat in my room and stretched out my legs. Not too long after, Bella stumbled in.

"Hey stranger." She said softly. "Why are you hiding away in here?"

I let out a small laugh, amused at her teasing. Thankfully, she was in a much better mood than earlier this week. For Emmett and Rosalie's visit, Bella wore a black leggings and a white and blue blouse. She looked pretty cute.

"I've never seen you in that outfit before Bella. It looks great on you."

"Oh, thanks." She replied, blushing. "I bought this with a little fraction of the money I saved from my job at the campus library"

"You have a job now?" I asked, surprised.

"Didn't I tell you that already?"

"No, you didn't. You weren't exactly speaking to me that much since I came back." I added sourly.

Bella laughed at me, completely oblivious to my dissatisfaction.

"You're so silly! I'm pretty sure I told you way before that Edward. I've had the job for months now. You just have really bad memory."

"I don't think I do Bella. So, are you excited to meet Emmett and Rosalie today?"

"I met Emmett already, the first day I was here, and he seemed pretty nice. After all the nice things you've said about Rose, I think I'll be fine."

"Really?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"I'm just that confident. I've had a really awesome trainer."

My heart dropped. I didn't like the way Bella called me a trainer. Sure, I helped her get back into school, and get her life back on track, but I was far from being a _trainer._ She was supposed to call me her friend now. I needed to do something to raise the slight tension.

"Are you sure you're confident?" I asked

She nodded, looking at me wearily.

"Come closer then."

She nudged a little bit closer to me.

"Closer Bella." I whispered.

She moved with baby steps until she was stationed directly between my legs. O stared into her eyes, which were filled with anxiety and confusion. Before she knew what was happening, I yanked her down on the couch with me and began to tickle her mercilessly.

"Edward stop!" She screamed. "I can't-it's not fair! What-did I do?" In between laughs Bella tried to talk, but by then she had a river of tears flowing from her eyes.

I moved my hands from her sides, to around her neck, then back to her sides again. She was so soft and warm, not to mention ticklish. In our wildness, I didn't realize that we were both about to roll off the couch. Bella ended up hitting her head on the ground, which was pretty funny; I was directly on top of her. I stopped my tickling, regretfully.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Bella asked breathlessly.

"Because Bella", I started, "You just referred to me as your trainer, and I didn't like it."

"But that's what you were; at least that's what I thought at first."

"What do you think now?" I asked, my face only inches from hers.

"I don't think you want to know." She mumbled, turning her face away.

I turned her face back to mine and looked directly into her eyes. Hopefully, she'd see the point I was trying to make.

"You are my friend Bella. You're my best friend, and that's something I thought you would be proud of saying."

I gave her a quick, soft kiss on her lips.

"There you go. Our best friend-ship has been sealed with a kiss."

Bella stared at me with absolutely no emotion in her eyes. She finally let out what seemed like a quiet "hmmph" and rolled out from under me, storming out of my room, and effectively slamming the door.

_What the hell? _

I'll admit it, it felt a little better that it should have when I kissed her, but she's my best friend for crying out loud, and doing it just felt, _right._ I didn't think she would take offense to it. I did feel a small spark when I kissed her, but I knew it was probably just my old rusty male hormones talking. I remember when Bella and I had to "fake kiss" way back a long time ago, but that was insignificant. When I kissed Bella today, I more than likely offended her _again. _

I didn't have the time to sit and ponder this anymore. The doorbell rang, and not to long after, Emmett's loud voice came booming through the house.

"Alice! My sister! My, my my, look at how you've grown!" He said in a southern accent.

"Where is Edward?" asked Rosalie. "I've been bouncing in my seat the whole ride here just to see his face."

I got up off the floor and picked up my walker, having to neaten my clothes as well. I walked out of the room as fast as my eight legs would carry me, and into the living room.

Bella wasn't even there.

My heart dropped slightly, and I got really annoyed. She was hiding away because I freaking kissed her, for half a second?

Rosalie and Alice were chatting non stop, when Emmett noticed me.

"Eddie my Teddie!" He shouted. Rosalie's face turned up into a warm, tear filled smile, and she walked over to me, embracing me a long tight hug.

"Mon puce, it's been too long."

"Too long since what Rose?" I asked

"Too long since I've been able to hug you like this. I've really missed you honey."

"Save the endearments for_ me_ please, Rosalie." Emmett said, coming towards us. Alice noticed that it was going to be a group hug, and she bounced towards us.

"Group hug!" She shouted wildly. Gosh, she was just like Emmett.

We sat down in the kitchen, while Alice served the breakfast. We talked about everything. Rose and Emmett's new house, Rosalie's job at the Social Services department, my therapy, and Alice's college applications. The only topic we didn't cover was Bella.

"Edward. Where's Bella? I've been dying to meet her." Rosalie asked.

"She left just before you guys got here actually."Alice replied, never looking me in the eye. "She said she had an emergency and needed to be at school as soon as possible before she lost her mind."

_Before she lost her mind? She couldn't have possibly been speaking about us? Or about me?_

Around lunchtime, the front door opened, and in walked Bella. I swear, at that moment, I saw freaking red. She saw all of us assembled in the living room, giving everyone a small smile, but purposely avoiding my gaze.

"You must be the infamous Bella." Rosalie said, standing up to greet her in a hug. "I'm Rosalie." She said.

"It's nice to meet you too." Bella smiled. "Hey Emmett, its good to see you."

"It's good to see me? Don't I get a hug too?" Emmett jumped off his chair and practically tackled Bella, before resting to a stop right in front of her and giving her a gentle hug.

"Sit between the two of us Bella." Rosalie said, motioning for me to go around so that Bella could sit. Bella complied, and sat down, still refusing to look at me. I figured that being angry with her wouldn't help the situation, so I changed my tactic. I pulled her ice cold hands into mine, and squeezed it softly.

"Hey there stranger." I almost whispered. The strangest thing happened then. Bella practically forced a smile at me, and politely yanked her hand out of mine. She inched closer to Rosalie, and leaned away from me. My face fell, and I knew I was scowling. Now she hurt my feelings. Emmett noticed the exchange.

"What's going on?" He mouthed at me.

I shrugged helplessly. I didn't know what was going on either, and I was pretty annoyed that Bella chose this time to pull one of her stupid, girly mood swings crap. After what happened earlier this week, I had thought that she got over whatever was bothering her. Now we were right back to square one. Bella was spoiling the one week I had left to spend with my family, and I'll be damned if I let her continue.

"So, Bella, how are your classes at the college going?" Rosalie asked.

"They're just swell Rose." I intervened. "She even got a job at the campus library, even though I pay for everything that she needs. How's that for being grateful?"

Bella glared at me. Great, the one time she looks at me, she's glaring. I was only stating how I was feeling at the moment, but then I remembered how pissed off she got when I called her an ungrateful little girl and everything else went downhill from there.

"It's great Rosalie." Bella's face softened. "My lecturers love me, so they managed to hook me up with a job. I didn't want to be completely dependent on Edward, so I was really _grateful _for the offer."

"That's great. So, do you have any idea what you're going to do after you graduate? Are you getting a job or are you gonna do more classes?"

Bella smiled, looking as though she was really thinking about her answer. I know for sure that she never told me what she wanted to do.

"I honestly don't know yet. I might keep my job at the library until I think of something."

"I can always fix you up with a job if you'd like. You might just have to move to the city with us."

The conversation continued to bounce between Bella and Rosalie and Bella and I was bored and irritated. Emmett looked ready to scratch out his eyes, Alice was humming away on her I-pod, but the two girls didn't seem to notice.

"Hey Rose, I'm feeling really left out of the conversation here. Do you guys think you can talk a little "guy talk", for my benefit, and Emmett's?"

Rosalie turned to face me, and her mouth dropped open. It seemed like she had really forgotten I was there. Go figure.

"Ed, I'm so sorry! We came all this way to see you and we're just ignoring you."

"That's okay. Do you mind if I talk to Bella alone in the kitchen for a while? Please?"

Bella looked at me wearily, before standing up and walking ahead of me.

"This will only take a second." I said.

"Good luck bro." Emmett yawned.

Once in the kitchen, I prepared myself to blow a fuse at Bella, but her back was turned, like she was purposely avoiding any confrontation.

"Any reason you just stormed out of the house and came back two hours later?"

"Yes. I felt uncomfortable when you kissed me, and I needed to get some air."

"Two hours of air? Geez, that's a lot of air."

Bella couldn't help it. My corny joke reached the corners of her lips which eventually turned up into a smile.

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, it won't happen again." There was so much more that I wanted to say, but now wasn't the time. I honestly wanted things to return to the way they were before. Bella just nodded a smile still on her lips. She walked towards me, and placed her hands on either sides of my face.

"I hope that someday I'll be brave enough to tell you why I react this way." She was about to walk off but I stopped her.

"Does it have anything to do with your past?" I inquired.

"Something like that, maybe, not really." She said with a laugh. She was always so cryptic. What the hell was that supposed to mean? I didn't say anything else, as I took her hands into mine. I was glad that she didn't let go this time.

**BPOV **

For dinner, we went to a grilled seafood restaurant on the outskirts of town. It was a relief to get out of the house and dress up for once, a change from my exciting routine. Edward also wanted to walk around more, just to get used to using the walker in public, and Rosalie and Emmett were too happy to humour him.

I really liked Rosalie. She was so soft and motherly, that I was drawn to her instantly. She was incredibly easy to talk to. Emmett was just as I had remembered him, wise and quiet, just taking time to observe everything. He had noticed the exchange between Edward and I, and I prayed that he wouldn't ask me about it.

My feelings for Edward had to be reigned in again, the second time for this week, all because he did something stupid. Of course it wasn't stupid in his eyes, because we were both adults claiming to be best friends, who just happened to be rolling around on a sofa laughing. I knew he cared about me, just not in the way that I wanted him to. I had no intention of saying a word.

To him, the kiss was fun and silly, a show of affection from a friend. To me, it was so much more than that. I noticed the soft texture of his lips, the slight chill it had as though he were drinking something cold, the taste-

_The taste? Our lips touched for like .0002 seconds, I tasted his lips. How pathetic am I? _

Apparently I was really pathetic, because I got mad at him. After he kissed me I ran straight to Alice, telling her I couldn't take it anymore, that Edward needed to keep his hands to himself if he wanted me to keep living here. She said she could talk to Emmett and Rosalie, but I shut that one down. How could I impose on two strangers, as nice as they are, just because of a stupid crush?

I wanted to collect myself, before Emmett and Rosalie arrived, so I went to a park nearby, knowing that Edward would try to find me in my room. I knew he would be upset when I came home, so I told Alice to say that I was at school.

He still looked pissed though, so I kept my eyes straight ahead. I couldn't bear to look at him; he was probably more confused than I was. I would tell him one day, when I was ready to move out and I wouldn't have to see him again.

I turned my attention back to the conversation. Edward was laughing scandalously, something I'd never seen before, and leaning onto Alice's shoulder. I took in his outfit. His hair, which was not almost at his shoulders, was pulled back by a thin white head-band; he wore a sky blue button down shirt, dark blue jeans, and a pair of dress shoes. I'd never seen him in dress shoes before. His converse had actually become a part of me. **(A/N- STALKER ALERT! lol) **

"Hey Bella, why are you so quiet tonight?" Emmett asked me.

"I was just thinking actually. I kinda let my self drift from the conversation. "

"But you were never in the conversation to begin with."

I smiled at Emmett. For someone who barely knew me, he sure did tease me a lot. It was nice to feel like I belonged.

"So, Bella, I was thinking about it all day. Would you like to come to my wedding? I mean, I would very much like it if you accepted my invitation, our invitation."

"Wow, Rosalie, I would absolutely love to."

"Great! I'll be sure to add you to the guest list. Are you bringing anyone?"

I thought about asking Jacob, but that didn't make any sense. It would have just been far too awkward for the both of us. I wish I had held on to Jacob, as a rebound, something to make me forget about Edward.

"No, I'm not seeing anyone so that's highly unlikely!"

"I can set you up. Are you interested?" Rosalie asked with a glint in her eyes.

"I don't think I'm comfortable with that, sorry."

"It's okay, I'm pretty sure you'll meet someone by then."

"Don't forget to add Tanya to the list Rose, I'm gonna call her when I'm done with therapy." Edward added.

This gained a glare from everyone on the table, except me of course. I kept my eyes trained on the glass in front of me. Trust Edward to ruin my night.

"I don't want her there Edward. That girl's a nasty piece of work. She broke your heart." Rosalie tried to change Edward's mind. "How do you even know she wants to talk to you?"

"She'll want me alright. Especially when she sees that I can walk again."

"Is that really all you care about? Being able to walk? You don't care that she used you?"

"We loved each other Rose! And this happened two years ago! It's time for me to forgive her and move on."

The table became silent as everyone continued to stare at Edward in disbelief. Gone was the warm, friendly atmosphere from the table. Everyone was pit against Edward and he was not about to back down. He wanted what he wanted and he wasn't about to let the most important people in his life change his mind.

"What do you think Bella?" Edward asked. "And don't feel intimidated by Rose or Emmett, please."

I took a deep breath, considering how I should answer his question. I didn't want to seem like I was following everyone else, but I had already made up my mind. Edward should leave his past where it was. How could he possibly want to move forward, when he kept dragging said past right back to his future?

I didn't know much about this girl, only the few details Alice gave to me. Sure, she broke his heart, but to me it was more than that. I could never want to be in a relationship with someone who leaves me at the first sign of distress. I decided to say something to quell to tension instead, choosing to keep my opinions to myself.

"I'm not in any place to say what I think Edward. Just, do whatever you think is right."

Emmett looked pleased, Rosalie looked upset, Alice looked annoyed, and Edward was just perplexed, as per usual.

Dinner soon came to an end and we went home, Emmett complaining of having eaten too fast, and Alice saying that she wanted another dessert. I was dog tired, so getting to leave was a great relief for me.

Two days after was Alice's graduation. She was so excited to be _finally _leaving High School as she had put it. I tried to help her get dressed, but my patience was wearing thin with Alice's absolute need for perfection. Eventually we got to leave the house, Alice wearing an elaborate and beautiful lilac dress, Rosalie sporting a blue skirt suit, me wearing a black and white polka dot dress, and Emmett and Edward wearing black dress pants and shirts.

The ceremony was quite interesting to say the least. I barely remembered my High School graduation, if I had attended it at all. Alice was class valedictorian, and I had no idea. Her speech was short and to the point, saving the entire audience and eternity of boredom and restlessness. Her classmates cheered and jumped up and down, apparently sharing the same enthusiasm as Alice. We gave some time to mingle with her friends and teachers, before we went to meet her and go for lunch at Ruby Tuesdays.

"I'm really gonna miss you guys! And I'm so excited for the wedding too! I wish _Edward _would allow me to visit. It's really not that far a drive anyway."

Rosalie and Emmett were leaving, after a very interesting week. The argument about Tanya was forgotten, with one final threat from Rose saying that she would drag both Tanya and Edward by their hair kicking and screaming if she had to, just to keep her out of her wedding. I didn't doubt her for a second. Edward didn't ask for my opinion again, "best friend" or not, and I was only too happy. This didn't stop Emmett and Rosalie from cornering me.

"_Are you actually going to let him get back together with her? You're a big girl now Bella and Edward trusts you. You have to give him some indication that you like him."_

"_Look, I know my brother can be a bonehead sometimes and unknowingly insensitive, but he doesn't deserve to go through the hell Tanya put him through again."_

"_I'm sure you feel like you're not good enough for him, but you are. In my eyes, you two are perfect for each other." _

This went on for a while until I relented and promised them that I would talk to Edward when the time was right. The time was most definitely not right. For the remainder of time that we had Edward to ourselves, Alice and I did a bunch of silly things with him, so he wouldn't feel to bummed and sad when he had to leave again. He was a big boy though, and I was pretty sure that he could have handled it.

I was helping him pack his bags to go back to his therapy when I realized that he had been awfully silent. It was quite unlike him to be sitting down in the same room as me and managing not to utter a word.

"What's wrong Edward? You've hardly said a word the whole thirty minutes."

Edward looked at me, then back to his suitcase again, before taking a deep breath.

"You don't like the idea of me being with Tanya either do you?" My jaw tensed and I did my best to keep my emotions in order. This was not the conversation I wanted to be having right now.

"I don't know much about her, so I can't say." This was a lie of course. There were the stories Alice gave me, then the additional ones form Rosalie and Emmett, and of course what Edward had told me himself.

"She's not a bad person Bella. I'm pretty sure she was just scared and didn't know what to do."

"Here's what I think. Someone who supposedly loves you doesn't run away if there loved one is sick because they're s_cared. _It just means that they never even loved you to begin with. If you welcome the idea of having someone like that back in your life, so be it. Just don't come running to the ones that warned you about it when you get burned again."

I zipped up his suitcase keeping my eyes on the ground. I couldn't bear to look at him after my little speech. Silently, I left the room, suitcase in hand, leaving him to get ready.

Alice and Edward were waiting for me in the car. Edward kept his eyes trained straight ahead, and I did the same. What I had said to him wasn't exactly rude or unkind; he just wasn't used to me disagreeing with him. The three hour drive was tense, save for the music on the radio and Alice just randomly saying something to make conversation. Eventually we arrived at the hospital and it was time to say our goodbyes. Alice hugged her brother first, while I hung back waiting for them to finish talking. When it was my turn, I walked up to Edward, nervously playing with my hands. He looked up at me, his expression unreadable.

"Well, I guess it's that time again huh?" I said. Edward nodded at me, turning his face away.

"I don't know how to say this Bella, I only found out about it recently." He continued to look uncomfortable, scratching his chin and running his hand through his hair. He finally came to a consensus about what to say. Oddly enough, whatever he had to say possibly wasn't that important as he didn't even look me in the eye.

"I'm sorry Bella, for everything. I'm sorry for unconsciously hurting you over and over again, I'm sorry for taking you for granted, and I'm sorry that I can't give you _everything _you want. I'll miss you though. Take care Bella." He bent down to give me an awkward hug which I didn't return, and planted a soft peck on my right cheek. There was only one thing running through my mind as Edward walked inside.

He knew. He knew how I felt, he knew how I've been feeling, and at that moment, he rejected me. I had never felt more hurt and embarrassed in my life, and yet all I could think was that _he knew and he still didn't want me. _

**A/N: Sooooo, what are your thoughts for this chapter? Was it great or was it great? I know that this chapter is long overdue, no excuses this time, I'm just lazy. Unfortunately, school is now in session…..blah blah you know the rest. Thank you for all the reviews you leave me, I love reading them. Leave a review for this chapter, your feedback will be greatly appreciated.**

**Ciao**

**Carly**


	12. Facing Reality

**Wow! That was a pretty long wait for an update huh! Needless to say, I'm back on track and expect to wrap up the story soon. Enjoy! **

**BPOV**

I walked back to the car numbly, where Alice was waiting for me. She looked over at me with a sympathetic expression on her face, but thankfully, she didn't say anything. Kind words were the last thing I wanted to hear. I stared into my lap as she reversed out of the parking lot, not bothering to see if Edward was standing there waving or not. The last I saw of him was when he walked off anyway. I opted to spend the remainder of the drive in silence.

"Bella please say something. The silence is driving me crazy." Alice said. I didn't reply. I had nothing to say. I wasn't mad at Alice, it wasn't her fault. I was just upset at the way I was feeling, it really sucked to have your heart ripped out in such a vulnerable way. He said he was sorry for hurting me, but he did it again.

"Look, I know you're upset, but it's not fair to take it out on me." I turned to face Alice, my expression grim.

"The way you treated me when you and Jasper broke up, that was "taking it out on someone". What I'm doing is sitting in silence. Clearly there's a difference!"

"You're right." Alice sighed. "But can we at least talk about it when we get home?" I scoffed at the word "home." I had no intention to stay there when Edward returned.

"Whatever you say Alice, just leave me alone right now." I replied. Somewhere during the drive, I drifted off to sleep. I had no idea where we were, but Alice was wearing her blue-tooth headset, talking to someone.

"Couldn't you just have shut your big mouth? How could you possibly have thought that it was a good idea to say something like that?" Alice paused. "What do you mean she needed to hear it right away? She already knew how you felt about Tanya; therefore it was a no-brainer that you didn't like her back! I swear Edward, sometimes you just don't think!"

I didn't want to listen to anymore of the conversation, so I willed myself to go back to sleep. Eventually, thinking about my next semester at Lakeview did the trick, and I was back in dreamland. All it took was a three hour drive to calm me down.

Alice woke me up when we were ten minutes from the house.

"I wanted to give you time to settle down. We have to start talking right away."

"We don't _have _to do anything Alice. I do not want to talk about this anytime soon!" I replied.

Alice pursed her lips.

"Look Bella, I know you don't have much experience with this kind of thing, but could at least have an open mind?"

"Didn't you say we would discuss this at "home" Alice? I far as I can see, we're still in the car. Can I have three minutes of silence, please?"

Alice nodded but didn't say anything. She pulled into the garage and I waited patiently for her to unlock the door.

"How the hell did Edward find that out Alice?" I shouted when we entered the house. "He went from being totally clueless, to just knowing everything. What did you say?"

"I didn't say anything to him. Well not directly to him. He heard me talking to Rosalie on the phone. He practically demanded to know what I was talking about because he was tired of being kept in the dark with all these secrets."

"Couldn't you have lied?" I demanded. "How could you have put me out there like that?"

"I had to take a chance Bella, for you. It's not like you would have ever said anything. I did it for you."

"You did it for yourself Alice! You just wanted to play matchmaker and give yourself a nice pat on the back for your latest _project!_ I feel betrayed, and I'm hurt and embarrassed that you left me vulnerable like that. What the hell made you think I wanted _help? _I had already made up my mind that I would tell Edward when I was _ready._ I wasn't _ready _Alice! " I shouted back, on the verge of tears.

Alice and I stood before each other, her face displaying shock and me trying to control my breathing. Alice nodded and without another word, she turned and walked upstairs. That was great, because all I needed was a sulky face around me.

I contemplated apologizing to Alice, but then again, what did I have to apologize for? Yelling at her? She deserved it; she was used to getting her own way. I sat in my room for most of the day, reading through my novels and trying not to cry. I didn't want to be melodramatic and say Edward broke my heart, because I was feeling pretty annoyed too.

Edward could've just shut up. Was it really necessary to say something like that? What did he expect me to do when he came back anyway? I couldn't just forget about it, and when we saw each other again it was going to be as awkward as hell. What was I to do? Would it have been inappropriate to ask Jake to let me stay at his place when Edward came back?

I had come such a long way from my situation with Andre; Edward had helped me so much. Leaving him and Alice over a situation like this was unnecessary, and I cared about them so much. It was better if I stayed until Rosalie's wedding, and worked things out with Edward after that. For now though, it would be easier for me to cease any contact with Edward. I wanted him to leave me alone and in turn I would do the same. Best friends or not, he was a total ass to hurt me like that, and he needed to recognize that.

What if he called me ungrateful again, or threatened to kick me out his house? I knew it wasn't fair of him to do that, but thinking of what I was about to do; shut Edward out of my life for the next few months, probably wasn't fair either. Regardless, I've been through enough shit concerning Edward, and this time period may be the best way to sought through that.

**EPOV**

As I sat in the car ride going back to the clinic, all I could think about was what Alice had told me earlier.

"_Edward, I wasn't supposed to say anything to you. Bella would hate me if she found out I told you."_

I was puzzled by this. As far as I was concerned, Bella and I were too close to be keeping secrets from one another. By now she should have gotten over her insecurities and be able to tell me anything. Now I just wished I had kept my mouth shut.

"_Rosalie and I were talking about Bella's feelings towards you_." Alice said. She was so hesitant, like she was struggling to tell me some big secret.

"_Feelings? What feelings? All I heard you say was that I need to open my eyes and see what I'm losing in Bella. What the hell does that mean?" _

"_It means that she's in love with you and you're not in love with her, and it hurts her to see how much you love Tanya and there's nothing she can do about it!" _

I'll be honest. My eyes had opened wide, and my jaw literally hit the floor. I couldn't believe it and I did not want to. If what Alice said were true, it would change everything; ruin my friendship with Bella, along with a long list of awkwardness.

"_Are you sure Alice? I mean, maybe you and Rose are just misunderstanding our closeness." _

"_You don't see the way she looks at you Edward." _Alice said sadly. _"It breaks my heart to see how much she loves you, and you don't even realize it." _

_I do love her Alice, just not the way she might want me to."_

At that moment, I thought about how Bella reacted when I kissed her, or came too close to her. She was uncomfortable, and when I went too far, she got annoyed. I was glad to have understood Bella's behavior now, but it didn't change anything. I had to tell her that I couldn't return her feelings. It wasn't just because of Tanya, but I had already settled into a "friends" zone with Bella. I thought that giving her a clean break would be easier for the both of us. The sooner she knew I didn't love her back, the sooner she could move on and things could get back to normal.

I thought wrong.

Alice called me an hour and a half after they left, ranting about what I had said to Bella. She said Bella was _angry, pissed of to the bone. _She kept saying that I shouldn't have told Bella that I knew how she felt about me, because now Bella's mad at the both of us. How could she be mad at me? _I _didn't do anything. As far as I was concerned, what I did was the right thing to do.

Alice continued her ranting, saying that when I came back it would be hell for me to pay, since I left her to deal with Bella. There was nothing to deal with. Bella's a big girl; she can take care of herself.

The next few weeks were intensive. My nurses had me walking everyday and jogging in the evenings. It was a huge sacrifice on my part to have to endure all that pain, but I had to do it for myself and for Tanya. I'd been talking to Alice often and she was pretty excited that I would be home soon. Then she would switch the conversation back to Bella and how she was doing and what she was doing. Quite frankly, it really annoyed me when Alice did that. Bella never asked about me, she never called me, or sent a text or even an email. If she thought that being sulky about what happened between us would get me to apologize then she surely had another thing coming.

**Three Weeks Later EPOV **

Being able to walk without any form of assistance whatsoever was exhilarating. I had never experienced a greater form of self accomplishment in my entire life. I was able to stand up proudly to my full height, walk around freely and socialize with other patients. My favorite part of having full access to my legs again was being able to run.

I participated in all the in house races, I jogged every morning and I just had fun. I had everything I needed to get Tanya back. My strength came back, I had all the confidence in the world and I was still as good looking as hell.

Alice was coming for me today, and pretty soon, I could start to drive again. I had already spoken to the psychiatrists; they all seemed to have to problem with me driving again. Everything in my life was perfectly on track, except for my relationship with Bella. I had no idea where she and I stood. In the past two months, Bella never called me. She also never texted me. She didn't do anything to show any indication that she cared about my wellbeing. It hurt a lot. After everything I had done for Bella, seeing the way that she just practically abandoned me over a little misunderstanding really broke my heart.

I checked my cell phone one more time. I still had no new messages. I pulled out my suitcase from the closet and started packing my clothes. I then called Alice, but not before blocking my number. I wanted to see if Bella would have answered the phone if my number didn't show up.

"Hello, this is Bella not Alice." I was right. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

"Hey Bella, it's me, Edward."

I waited for Bella to yell at me, or to hang up the phone, or to simply ignore me and leave me on the line, but instead I heard Alice's voice.

"Hey Edward, what's up?" she said.

"I'm good Alice. I noticed that Bella just answered the phone. Why didn't she talk to me?"

"Look Edward, you're coming home today, so I'm pretty sure Bella would be more than willing to work things out with you then."

"Well is she at least coming with you for the drive?" I asked.

"I'm not sure Edward, maybe she will, and maybe she won't. She's helping me sought things out for your return home."

"It would mean a lot to me if she comes Alice. Can you please try to convince her to come?"

"I can't convince Bella to do anything she doesn't want to do anymore Edward." Alice said. "She's changed a lot in the past two months. Just know that she still cares about you Edward. You hurt her, and you ruined a great friendship, but she still cares about you."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This couldn't have been the Bella I met such a long time ago.

"What do you mean I ruined a great friendship? Didn't you say earlier that she wanted to work things out between us?" I asked.

"Of course she does." Alice replied. "But I can guarantee that things will never be the same. She won't trust you as much, she's going to be more guarded and she won't let you be as close to her as you used to be."

"How do you know that Alice? I know Bella far better that you do. How are you so sure that she's going to push me away?"

"Well Edward, in a way, Bella replaced you, not with me, but someone else. Furthermore, Bella treats me like a sister, she tells me everything. So, I can say for sure that in her mind, you messed things up, she expects you to apologize and she plans to keep you at arms length until you do."

"What about the way she ceased contact with me Alice? Am I even allowed to be angry because of that? I was hurt too!"

"Edward, I have to go now. But just to answer your question, of course you're allowed to be angry at Bella. You just need to tread lightly and get to the root of the problem. Bye now, I'll see you soon!"

"Goodbye Alice, yeah, I'll see you soon I guess."

I hung up the phone feeling defeated and sad. I was no longer looking forward to returning home, to my own house as a matter of fact. Rosalie's wedding was two weeks away, I was getting closer and closer to getting Tanya back, and I could _walk_ again for goodness sake. I should have been excited, but all I could think about was Bella, and how awkward it was going to be.

Shortly after speaking to Alice, an attendant came to my room to check on me and make sure I was alright. I let her know that everything was fine and that my family was on their way to pick me up. I had used the word "family" rather sparingly since it was only Alice that was coming and Bella, who I considered to be family, was in love with me and hated my guts. The only thing left for me to do was to follow Alice's advice and hope for the best.

I was waiting in the lobby when Alice walked through the door. During the three hours I had waited for Alice, I had gotten pretty excited again. I was going to see Emmett and Rose, my parents! I couldn't wait for them to see me walk, _without _assistance.

Alice came in with her hands swinging, eagerly looking around the lobby for me. I stood up so that she could get a better view of me. When our eyes met, Alice squealed and raced over, instantly throwing herself on me.

"Edward! I'm so glad I can do this again! I'm also so happy to see you! Oh my goodness, just wait until mom and dad and Rose and Emmett see you! Everyone's so excited!"

I laughed at Alice's mirth. Her happiness just made me even happier than I already was. I hugged back my sister, the one person who always stuck by me no matter what. Now that I was finally better, we had a lot to catch up on. The one thing that didn't escape me was that Bella wasn't here with us. It hurt a little, but at least I expected it.

Our ride back home was filled with non stop chatter. One would think that Alice and I had been out of touch, or that we hadn't seen each other often, but I think it was the fact that we were both aware that I had _finally _gotten all of my strength back. I knew I didn't do it on my own. It was all from God and I couldn't be more thankful.

As Alice drove closer and closer to home, I started to get nervous. Alice must've sensed it, because she tried to comfort me.

"Don't worry Edward. I talked to Bella, she promises to be on her best behavior. Besides, everyone will be there and the last thing she wants is a confrontation in front of them."

By the time we pulled into the garage, I still didn't look convinced. Alice leaned over and patted my leg reassuringly.

"She wants to work things out just as much as you do Edward. You guys have a complicated relationship and if you want to salvage it, you need to move at her pace, or maybe you can give her the push that you both need. Either way, Bella is going to be completely civil to you in there, because she doesn't want anyone to know that something's off between you two. Not even Rose and Emmett know about this Edward."

"You mean she didn't tell them?" I asked. "What about Jake, she seemed pretty close to him."

"Not even Jacob knows Edward." Alice replied. "Now forget about this whole fiasco and let's go inside. Everyone in there is totally psyched to see you, and although she won't admit it, so is Bella."

I looked at Alice and willed myself to believe her. Today wasn't about Bella; it was about me, my success and my ability to overcome my disability. I nodded reassuringly, squeezed Alice's hand, and stepped out of the car. With my newfound confidence, I walked up to my house and opened the door.

"SURPRISE!" Everyone yelled. I stood, unmoving, as I stared at everyone. It was pretty small gathering; I was just shocked that Alice turned it into a "surprise" gathering. I already knew that they were gonna be there.

The first people to approach me were my parents. I braced myself for a stern greeting from them, or at least form my dad. When my dad walked up to me, he embraced me in a warm hug.

"Congratulations Edward, I'm really proud of you son." He said.

"Thank you dad, that means a lot." I replied.

My mom came by after, her eyes filled with tears, followed by Rosalie, Emmett and Jacob. A few of my acquaintances were there as well, and they all had kind words to say. The one person who still didn't come over to me was Bella.

I noticed her standing by a table laid out with food and drinks, and she was pretending to arrange it. When she looked up and met my eyes, she gave me a tight smile, and proceeded to walk over to me. What she did next shocked me.

Bella stepped in front of me, hugged me tightly, and she didn't let me go.

**A/N: Let me know what you think guys**

**Ciao**

**Carly**


	13. Welcome Home

**Sorry I'm late guys, enjoy! (5017 words) **

I must admit, it took a lot of courage on my part to walk up to Edward and hug him the way I did. I had every intention of sticking to my plan and staying away from him. When Edward came home however, and I saw him for the first time in months, a huge wave of emotion came over me. When our eyes met, the sensation became even stronger, and my urge to be close to him couldn't be stopped. I loved him, I missed him and I just needed to get close.

Before Edward came home, I was a hot mess, literally. I wasn't exactly sure how to operate and it had nothing to do with his absence. I was more worried about his return than anything else. I stuck to my word and I didn't try to contact him. I didn't call him and I didn't keep in touch. One would say that we practically became strangers again.

Despite not seeing Edward or hearing his voice, it didn't change the way I felt about him. The love was still there, I was just much more guarded. I wasn't going to tolerate any accidental touches or "friendly" kisses. It would only make things worse. I wanted to make things better again, because if I blocked Edward out he would think that I didn't appreciate everything he did for me. I didn't want our friendship to end on such a sour note.

When everyone left and we had time to ourselves, we would have to talk. I knew that he would be hurt and possibly even angry, and I was prepared for that. What I wasn't prepared for was how overwhelming it would be to just _see_ him again. How does someone react to a person that hurt them unintentionally, after seeing them or the first time in a long time?

As I held on to Edward, I could feel the shock register in his body. He was a bit stiff at first, but eventually he relaxed and pulled me in even closer. We stayed in that position for quite awhile, before being interrupted by Jacob.

"Ahem. Sorry if I'm coming in between anything. Edward, a couple of us are gonna play foosball in the game room, you coming?"

"Yeah, sure, of course." Edward removed himself from my embrace, nodded at me rather coldly, but I could still see the sadness and the questions in his eyes.

He wanted to talk about what happened, but now was not the right time. He needed to be with everyone else first. All his family and friends and people that loved him were here to see him so I had to leave and mingle with someone else for awhile. Of course _Tanya_ wasn't there, not that Edward noticed.

A few hours into the welcome back party, Alice came up to me to chat.

"How are you Bella? Are you handling things okay?" She asked.

"I'm doing as well as I can Alice. I'm really happy to see him, contrary to what he may have believed. I feel like such a jerk for not going to see him. It's almost as if I punished him for not loving me back." I replied.

"Oh Bella, Bella, Bella, Bella, how do you expect to get Edward to see that what he did was wrong if you're so ready to take the blame?" Alice retorted.

"But maybe it was my fault. As I'm standing here watching him smile and interact with everyone and acting like everything's okay, I just wish I could take back everything. He would have been so much happier if I spoke to him during the last few months of his therapy."

"I'm sure he would have been." said Alice. "But what about you? Would you have been happy too? I seem to remember how hurt and angry you were after everything happened. No-one could've reasoned with you! Listen to me Bells, Edward wants to fix this friendship as much as you do, probably even more. Now let me tell you what you're going to do."

I straightened up immediately. Very rarely did Alice use such a maternal tone with me. The only other time she did it was when I was so pissed off about Edward that I didn't speak to anyone. Now that she was using it again, there must be some important words to be said.

"Eventually Bella, you and Edward are going to be alone and you're going to talk about what happened. Knowing my brother, he's going to want to go to the source of the problem, which may very well be around the time that you moved in here. You're going to have to tell him everything you told me and the way the kissing and the hugging and everything else made you uncomfortable."

I listened with rapt attention. I needed to be as prepared as possible for this conversation.

"Is that all I did to know Alice?" I asked.

"No, it isn't." Alice answered. "Edward's going to want to know why you shut him out Bella. You're the only one who can answer that, so I need you to answer truthfully. It's the only way he'll know what he did wrong, and it's the only way you both can begin to repair your friendship."

I contemplated my reasoning behind not calling Edward and basically ignoring his existence. I was humiliated and embarrassed that he knew how I felt about him and then I got a pretty frank response from him that he didn't feel the same way. I was also angry at the way he had done it. I could understand if he didn't want to lead me on, but I wish Edward had saved that conversation for another time. I also needed time for myself to get over him. That meant that I did not, under any circumstances, want to hear his voice, see his face or touch his skin. Alice sensed that I was thinking and snapped her fingers to bring my attention back to her.

"Don't wait too long Bella. If you have to initiate the conversation, go ahead and do it. Do it tonight."

"That's too soon Alice! He needs time to settle in and unpack his bags and rest!" I protested.

"No Bella, what Edward needs, is the knowledge that his closest friend cares about him enough to make the first move. You owe him that much."

After hanging out with me for a few more minutes, Alice left me to join her parents and Edward. There was no one else around that I wanted to talk to, and the party seemed to be dwindling down anyway. I retreated to my room until I was sure that everything was finished, and just started thinking about everything that happened in the past few months.

_Two months earlier_

_I was trying desperately to not be angry anymore. Alice respected my wishes and left me alone for a few days while I distracted myself with my assignments and my job at the library. After the anger finally faded away, a new feeling arose. I was so humiliated. Edward had no idea what he did by saying what he knew that day. He ruined a great friendship. Since I had calmed down considerably, I contemplated calling Edward. I changed my mind though, because there was absolutely nothing I had to say to him. What would I say anyway, "Hey Edward, even though you rejected me in the most inappropriate way I still want to pretend that nothing happened and be friends"? _

_My resolve was strengthened. I made the right decision in not calling Edward and not wanting anything to do with him. I was right, he was wrong. End of discussion. _

_Alice tried to get me involved in small talk concerning Edward a number of times, but after I brushed her off, quite harshly, she got the point and left the subject alone. I could tell that she had been talking to a very disgruntled Edward, who was angry that I hadn't tried to reach him in any way .I could care less. _

_When Alice went to visit for the first time since I stopped talking to Edward, I told her I wasn't going. When she came back, I had to hear a long lecture about how silly I was being, it was time to forgive and forget and that I was too young to be holding grudges. My reply to her was, and I quote, "Baloney Alice. That's a bunch o baloney." _

_Soon enough, I got my affairs in order. My routine fell into place. Alice and I could hold conversations on neutral topics without things being awkward. We got even closer than we ever were. I was able to open up to Alice, telling her things that only Edward knew, as well as things that he didn't know, which wasn't much anyway. When Alice finally understood my reasons for detaching myself from my relationship with Edward, she supported me. The only thing she asked was that I made sure to fix everything when Edward returned. _

_O course I wanted to fix everything. Alice knew that. I just needed as much time as possible, and Edward had to understand that. My time "away" from Edward was helping me to deal with a number of things. First, I needed to get used to the fact that he would be rallying for Tanya as soon as he could. I didn't want to appear to be a weakling, or seem unhappy and dejected. My goal was to move on, with Jacob most likely. Secondly, I needed to come to terms with how I was going to explain myself to Edward. I still hadn't come up with that. _

_With regards to Jacob, I had to start dating him again. I needed every possible distraction I could get my heart and mind on. It may have seemed as though I was using Jacob, but it wasn't like that. Jacob was always my safety net and he always would be. I just hoped that he didn't get hurt by me. I didn't want to go into detail as to why I wasn't speaking to Edward with Jacob, as it was a personal matter between the two of us. Besides, I was incredibly ashamed of what transpired. I also didn't want him to feel like the rebound guy. _

_I started dating Jacob again three weeks after Edward left. We hit it off immediately. I suppose the saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder" had a small role to play in our chemistry level, but it was mostly my strong desire to replace Edward. Alice had asked me one day if replacing Edward. I didn't want to lie, that had been my plan all along. If I replaced Edward with someone, anyone else, then I wouldn't feel weird when Tanya started coming around. Plain and simple, I needed a plan B. _

_Jacob and I weren't as close as Edward and I were, but I had to make do. A small part of me always wondered what I would do if Edward ever expressed feelings for me. How would I end my relationship with Jacob? _

_Working at the library had allowed me to accumulate enough money to get driving lessons. I had my learners permit within one month, much to my surprise. All I had to do was work towards my drivers permit. I made myself stronger and I put up walls around my heart. Edward was going to come home to a new and improved Bella. I was still soft, loving and compassionate, but there was now a limit to it all. _

_I was proud to say that my time away from Edward had brought out the best in me. I grew up and I matured. If Edward wanted my forgiveness, he would've gotten it; he just had to work for it. _

Two hours later, I heard a soft knock on my door. I was expecting it to be either Edward or Alice, but I really hoped it was Alice. I was still too scared to actually _talk _to Edward.

"Come in." I said. Thankfully, Alice entered. She poked her head in, before fully stepping into the room.

"Everyone's left Bella. Edward is in his room, he's in a wonderful mood, so now would be a great time to go talk to him. Remember what I told you, okay?" I nodded in acknowledgement. "By the way, Rosalie wanted me to give you this." Alice handed me two envelopes. One of them looked like a wedding invitation and the other one was plain blue. I decided to open the blue envelope first. Inside it was a small paper, neatly folded in half. I opened it to see a note written in a very elegant handwriting.

_My dearest Bella, _

_Words cannot express how deeply sorry I am for having a part to play in _

_that little misunderstanding between yourself and Edward. If it hadn't been _

_for Alice and I, I'm pretty sure you and Edward would've still been friends. _

_However, had it not been for Alice and I, you would have still been hurting, somewhat. _

_I want nothing more than for you and Edward to reconcile. I sincerely hope that_

_with whatever conversation you hold, together, that nothing but goodness and resolution_

_will come from it. Once again, I apologize for making trouble. _

_All my love, Rosalie. _

I held the letter in my hands feeling quite shocked. I knew Rose was a gem, but I didn't think she would've apologized for what happened. It wasn't really her fault. I opened the wedding invitation next.

_The Parents of __Rosalie Hale__ and __Emmett Cullen_

_Cordially invite you to the union of their children in _

_Holy Matrimony at the All Saints Church on the Rock._

_Reception: Signature Hall_

_Dress Code: Black Tie_

_You are kindly invited to bring with you ONE guest._

I was quite touched that Rosalie remembered inviting me to her wedding and that she was considerate enough to send me an invitation. My spirits were lifted and I felt more emotionally prepared to speak with Edward. It was going to be a long conversation, but I felt ready.

I got up from my bed to go to Edward's room. Standing outside his room, I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Come in, Alice." Edward called out. I opened the door and pushed my head inside. Edward's back was turned to face his bed while he took clothes out of a bag. He continued facing his bed until he spoke again.

"I was wondering when you were coming to chill out with me. Tomorrow I want to move back to my room upstairs." I decided that now was as good a time as any to let Edward know that it wasn't Alice in his room.

"Actually, it's Bella." I said softly. I watched his reaction very carefully. Edward froze and dropped whatever he was holding. Then, very slowly, he turned around to face me. His face held nothing but shock.

"Hey." I said. "How are you?"

"Umm, I'm good. How are you?"

"I'm pretty nervous actually." I replied with a soft smile. After a few seconds of extreme awkwardness, Edward regained his composure, sat down on his bed and took on a very relaxed manner. I stood there with my hands clasped tightly together, not knowing what to say anymore.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of being in your presence after two months Bella?"Edward started.

I flinched and after a while I started to lose confidence in what I was going to say. Eventually I built up the courage to look up and look Edward in his eyes. The usually watery pools of green were stone cold and they stared back at me hard. I suddenly got the feeling that this _talk _was going to be a lot harder than I expected. I remembered Alice's words. She said that I should make the first move. The way Edward was feeling now was due to me not calling him and basically avoiding him.

"Well", I started. "I know that the past two months have been a bit strained between the both of us, due to you finding out what you found out, and I just thought that it would be nice if we could just talk things through."

"So you didn't think we could've talked things through if you came with Alice to visit me? Or perhaps you could've given me a call? Come on Bella, you know me. I would've been more than willing to talk about what happened. I would've even looked the other way, if that's what you wanted. What I don't understand is why you shut me out and hurt me like that."

I stared back at Edward after he finished giving his little speech. All traces of coldness were gone. Now he looked just as vulnerable and afraid as I did. He deserved the truth, so that was what I was going to give to him. After taking one more deep breath to calm myself, I began my explanation.

"Edward, I shut you out because I was humiliated. Furthermore, I was so angry that you actually thought it was sensible to blurt out something like that just as we were saying goodbye to each other and, I don't know, but I really needed that time to myself, to get over it. To get over you."

"What do you mean you needed time to get over me?"

Could he really be that dense? What the hell did he think I meant?

"What I _mean _Edward, is that since you made it so clear that you didn't feel the same way, and that you're still strung up on the incredible Tanya, I needed time, away from you, to process what it would mean for me, my life and our friendship. I didn't want to still be hurting by the time you came back, or by the time you had Tanya wrapped around you waist."

Edward looked back at me, seemingly processing this information. He appeared to have begun understanding the reasons behind my absence. However, he still didn't look convinced.

"I still don't understand how you could have fallen for me Bella. We were friends. I didn't do or say anything to make you feel otherwise, did I? Even if I did, you should have said something. Why did I have to force something like that out of my baby sister?"

"First of all, you did a lot to make me fall in love with you-"

"You were _in love_ with me?" Edward asked.

I rolled my eyes. What did he think exactly? That perhaps I stopped talking to him for two months because he found out that I had a little crush on him?

"Yes Edward, I was. Back to my answer, you did a lot to make that happen. Can I draw your attention back to the day you asked me to pretend to be your girlfriend for your parents? What about the first time you kissed me? In the period of time that I've been here, you've kissed me more than once. I loved it more than I was supposed to, but for you, it was all pretend or "harmless". I practically turned to goo whenever you smiled at me, or when you touched me, or even when I heard your voice.

My voice dropped to a whisper then.

"I fell in love with your personality. I loved the way you just let me in and you understood me. Similarly, I understood you. What started out as a crush turned into something more and it hit me pretty hard. What I felt for you was a little intense Edward.

"You were so determined to help me that you gave all of yourself. You're an amazing person Edward and you're extremely loving and selfless. Do you still need to know why I fell in love with you, or is it all coming together?"

I took a chance to look at Edward again. By then, I had already moved from where I was standing and I was sitting on his sofa. I didn't even realize I had moved. Edward was staring back at me; apparently he had been doing that during my confession. I wasn't sure what to make of his expression. It was tortured, agonized, disbelieving and in shock. He closed his eyes, like he always did when he was stressed or under pressure. I closed my eyes too and ran my hand over my face.

"I think its time for you to sit down next to me Bella. This is going to be an extremely long conversation."

I moved from where I was standing to sit next to Edward on his bed, as he asked me to.

"Bella, I want to know exactly when you realized you liked me in that way." Edward had finally opened his eyes and turned to look at me.

"I already told you." I replied. "It was right around the time you wanted me to pretend to be your girlfriend for your parents' visit. At first it was just a little crush but-"

"Wait," Edward interrupted. "Give me a minute to process the first part of what you said."

Edward closed his eyes again, while I waited, and waited, and waited. His eyes opened again and he stared into space. It was almost as though he were trying to recall all the events that happened from the day I came here and onwards.

"I can't believe I didn't notice." Edward whispered almost to himself. "I really wish you'd said something Bella, anything at least."

"I wasn't in a position to say anything Edward. In the beginning, I didn't know you well enough and it would have been weird, and later on, we were practically best friends. I didn't want to create that distance between us, but you did it anyway."

"This is not my fault Bella!" Edward lashed out. "I didn't ask to be whatever you described me to be and I certainly didn't tell you to fall in love with me! Just please, stop trying to make it sound as though it's my fault that things got so out of hand."

I was silent after Edward's outburst. This was the anger that I was prepared for. Therefore, I knew how to deal with it.

"It's not all my fault either Edward. Why don't you just admit that there was a small part of you that always knew that I had a crush on you? That there was a tiny piece of you that innocently teased me and flirted with me sometimes? We're both to blame for the situation we're in, and I'm trying to move past that by speaking with you."

"You shut me out for two whole months Bella! What's worse is that you did it when I needed you the most! You were my best friend, I _trusted_ you, I _loved_ you, I _needed_ you to be there for me during my last two months of therapy and you thought it was a good idea to just shut me out because you needed to _get over me_? That's the point I'm trying to get across to you. It is the most selfish and inconsiderate piece of nonsense I've ever heard. Its' a shitty excuse and you know it!"

Edward was breathing heavily by the time he was done. His face was red; his veins were almost bulging out of his head. His anger reminded me of how I felt in the earlier part of the past two months. He got up from the bed and started to pace up and down the room. I contemplated whether or not I should tell him that it was just as selfish of him to compromise our friendship by blurting out what he knew _and _rejecting me at the same time.

I had gone over this conversation a million times in my head, but I was somewhat at a loss for words. If I told him what was really on my mind, he would get even angrier and we would get nowhere. On the other hand, if I bit my tongue and agreed with him to placate his ego, we still wouldn't get anywhere. Alice and I had gone over this. I _had _to make Edward see where he went wrong, _and then _the apologies could begin.

"Don't you think it was selfish of you to tell me that you "couldn't give me _everything _that I wanted" at the time that you did? Don't you think it was _inconsiderate _of you to poke your nose in business that didn't concern you and talking about it at the most inappropriate time? Don't you think that its _nonsense _that you told Alice you want to work through this and yet you're set on picking a fight?"

I stared back at Edward with fierce determination. If it was a fight he wanted, then it's a fight he was going to get. Sure, I didn't expect everything to disappear immediately; of course it would take time. I just didn't want it to take too much time.

"Just think about it Edward. I want you to _understand _why I developed feelings for you. I don't think you've grasped it yet. Remember when Rose and Emmett were coming to visit, and you attacked me on the sofa with tickles? We ended up on the ground, and you "sealed our friendship with a kiss". That wasn't fair. It made me uncomfortable, especially since I knew it wasn't going anywhere. That time I spent away from you was kind of a healing process. I couldn't handle seeing you with someone else when you came back, so I took measures to ensure that I wasn't. You were able to be so close to me, and yet your feelings were strictly platonic. Am I right?"

Edward didn't answer me. Instead, he looked away from my gaze.

"Are you at least able to tell me whether or not you found me a little attractive?"

"Where is all this boldness coming from Bella?" Edward retorted. "Yes, I thought you were attractive. You're a girl I'm a guy. That's beside the point. What I'm so pissed off about is you shutting me out!"

"You won't understand why I shut you out if you don't understand what you did wrong!" I shouted back. I was beginning to feel hopeless. I told Alice that I didn't want to do this tonight. I wanted to wait, but she insisted that Edward was so hurt and that I needed to make the first move. Clearly he didn't want to move forward. All he wanted was an apology from me for shutting him out.

"What more do you want from me Edward? I'm really trying here. I honestly thought that you were just as willing as I was to repair what's left of our friendship. It's like you want this thing to drag on for another two months." Edward whipped around to look at me.

"I want you to admit that you dealt with this entire situation the wrong way. The way I see it, if I did something to hurt you or offend you, you should have said something. Because you failed to do that, and ended up hurting the both of us, I deserve an apology."

I remembered Alice's words again.

_He deserves that much._

Without further hesitation, I swallowed my pride and said the last thing I could think of to salvage our friendship; to salvage _us._

"You're right Edward. You deserve an apology. I'm sorry I hurt you."

I made sure to look him in the eyes when I said this. I didn't want any more miscommunications. Although I had broken all my rules at this point, it was the final option I had left. I gave him the most sincere apology I could.

"I'm sorry I hurt you, and that I stopped speaking to you when you needed me most. I'm sorry that you can't seem to move past that. I'm sorry you found out that I'm in love with you, I most importantly, I'm sorry that I ever did."

I felt the tears forming, but I was determined not to let them fall. With one final glance at Edward, you hadn't glanced at me once, I walked out of his room, and possibly even out of his life, one last time.

"Bella wait." Edward called out.

I stopped in my tracks to hear what he had to say.

"What, Edward?"

"I just wanted to say, that for the record, I don't forgive you. I just can't find it in myself to believe that the way you hurt me was the right thing to do. I really just don't forgive you."

I stood where I was, my tears flowing freely now. I was beyond pissed off. Was he serious? After all we'd been through together that's what he says? I wish I had just maintained the cold exterior I had planned. I should have let Edward come to me. He wanted to play the hurt game? Fine. I had become quite skilled at it. I spun around, and marched straight up to Edward with my blotchy, red face. I gave him the most hateful look I could and I pointed my finger at his chest.

"You didn't seem to have any problem forgiving _Tanya _when she hurt you, did you _Edward?" _

He scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"I've got another thing to apologize for by the way. I'm sorry I was ever the one to help with your stupid exercises to help get you out of that chair. Maybe if you were still walking on wheels you may have had a little more _forgiveness_ to share."

I barely got a chance to register the look on Edward's face. I didn't want to. I turned on my heel and ran to my room, trying to stop myself from crying out loud.

**Hello to all! I had so many different outcomes for this chapter, but this is where my typing led me. I wanted them to resolve their "dispute" here; however I got other ideas along the way. **

**What do you think? Should Edward have been so hard on Bella? Do you think that Bella is asking too much of Edward? Was Edward being too harsh and unreasonable? Was Bella too dramatic? Leave a review and let me know! Edward or Bella POV for chapter 15? U guys get to decide! **


	14. Apologies

**Disclaimer: I don't own twilight, but I do own this plot and everything that my characters say. **

**Ciao **

**1540 words. **

EPOV

I literally stared open mouthed at my door after Bella left. _What the hell did I just do? _I hadn't meant what I said by not being able to forgive her. I just didn't want to let it go without a fight. The final words Bella said to me sliced into me and hurt like no other pain I had ever experienced before. It was worse than how I felt right after the accident. For the first time since my ability to walk again, I involuntarily dropped to my knees.

_I'm never going to be able to fix this. _

I had officially blown it. I took it too far. If I had just accepted her apology, instead of being so petty, who knows what would have happened. Bella and I would've probably been talking about something else. I had just gotten so annoyed when she said that she was sorry she ever fell in love with me. I didn't want her to be sorry about that, for some strange reason.

That was another thing. Although Alice had told me that Bella was in love with me, I didn't quite wrap my head around it until I heard Bella say it with my own ears. Now, there she was, proudly stating the reasons behind her "love". She said I was handsome and oh so good looking, which I already knew, but the part about being selfless and loving was news to me. I must have really changed.

I pulled myself up from the ground and plopped onto my bed. I though about what Bella was trying to tell me. She had basically said that it was my fault she fell in love with me because of things I couldn't help nor avoid. I'll admit that I was slightly flirtatious in the beginning, but I never really had a thing for her. All the hugs and kisses and touches that Bella was referring to were strictly platonic. I really truly did not see it as being any other way.

When Bella came to talk to me, I had been shocked to say the least. I was not expecting her to be the one to make the first the first move to see me; Alice had told me to make the first move anyway.

Maybe we had this talk too soon. Maybe all we needed were a few days to get accustomed to being around each other again before we actually had a conversation. Hurting Bella was the last thing I wanted to do, ever, and now it was like I had pushed her away for good. I contemplated whether or not I should go to Bella and apologize for being such a jerk, but then decided against it. It would be better if I just let her relax for the night and we could take things from the start in the morning.

Despite the long day I had, I wasn't really tired. Instead of going to bed, I put on my converse and hoodie so I could take a walk around my area. The night was pretty quiet, which was how I had grown to like it. When I was younger and a lot more rebellious, I couldn't stand the quiet. Now, I loved it. The quiet environment helped keep me sane while I was at therapy, believe it or not.

While walking, I passed familiar houses, houses I'd only glimpse at while driving past them. People take so much for granted when they have it all. Even though the houses looked the same when I drove past it or when I watched it from the window, it still felt different to actually be able to walk past it and carefully observe. Like the way Mrs. Jenner's house is really creepy looking at night, or the way her neighbor's house looks like it's leaning to the right if you squint your eyes and run towards it really fast. I had missed out on so much since my accident, but in some ways, I wouldn't have matured or become a better person for my family and myself. I probably wouldn't have met Bella either.

Bella had become one of the most important people in my life. I couldn't imagine my life without her. However, I just wasn't into her that way. Now, I was just confused. How was I supposed to keep her in my life if our entire relationship had changed? She barely trusted me anymore, she currently hated my guts and there was nothing I could do about it.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I heard a voice behind me. It was Bella.

"Bella, I'm so relieved to see you."

"Yeah, well, I saw you walk out of the house and I wanted to make sure that you didn't do anything stupid or reckless in your apparent distress."

Her tone had a touch of hostility to it, but I could tell that she was looking out for me. We stood in silence for awhile, neither of us knowing what to say, until Bella broke the silence.

"Well, it seems like you're doing okay, I'm going back."

"Bella wait, don't go." She turned to look at me, her eyes questioning.

"Why not? I have no reason to stay. I really was just checking on you."

"Can we talk?"

"Right Edward, because it turned out so well the first time." She replied, rolling her eyes.

I didn't want her to go back inside. Talking out it the fresh air, in the open, I felt, might have been better, especially since we were both able to let off our steam earlier.

"Just, keep me company for the rest of my walk, please Bella?"

She hesitated for a moment, looking everywhere but at me. What made her make up her mind was looking into my eyes. Maybe she saw my sincere expression and decided to come along, or she just couldn't say no to me after looking at me. She always did love my eyes; and me apparently.

I held out my hand for her to take, to which she crinkled her nose and stared at it like it was diseased. I stopped myself from rolling my eyes.

"Bella, can you please pretend that we're on speaking terms and that things are how they used to be before this big mess happened?" She narrowed her eyes at me, fully understanding the meaning behind my words. _Before I found out that you were in love with me and this big gap formed between us. _

"I'm just tired of the space that's been between us for so long. I want us to feel normal again, even if it's just for tonight." She finally conceded and gently placed her hand in mine. Immediately, I felt a jolt of _something _pass through me. It seemed as though Bella felt it too because she looked uncomfortable.

"It must be the cold. It's pretty chilly out here." Bella didn't respond, she just kept her eyes on the road, but left her hand in mine.

I started to rub small circles on the outside of her hand with my thumb. That seemed to soothe her a little, and she eventually relaxed.

We walked in a comfortable silence for about fifteen minutes. We were almost at Lakeview College.

"I'm sorry for all the pain I've unknowingly caused you over the past few months Bella. I'm especially sorry for the way I behaved tonight when you came to talk to me, and when I said I couldn't forgive you. It wasn't true. I just wanted you to feel maybe a fraction of the pain I felt when you essentially abandoned me when I needed you the most."

"I accept your apology." She replied, nodding. "Thank you for it, I really do appreciate it. I'm sorry I said those things to you before I stormed out of your room, I didn't mean it."

"I deserved it." I said, shrugging.

"No, Edward, you didn't deserve it. I had just reached my limit. You're an amazing person and you worked really hard to get to where you are. Don't ever let someone convince you that you deserve being paralyzed again or not being able to walk. I'm sorry I was such a big baby about everything. I shouldn't have ignored you phone calls, or you."

"Thanks." I said, bringing my arm around her shoulder. Bella leaned in to me and brought her hands around my waist, leaning into me while we walked.

"I'm really glad you can walk now. We can do all the things that we couldn't do before. We can properly exercise our best-friendship."

"Does that mean all is forgiven?" I asked Bella, looking down at her. She smiled in response.

"Of course it is. At the end of the day I just want you to be happy. If forgiving you and talking to you makes you happy, then I'll do it."

I hated the raw emotion behind he words. I felt like there was a double meaning."

"That was pretty easy, considering all the tension that took place no too long ago." I said lightly.

"I just want it to be over Edward." Bella sighed. "I miss you a lot and I'm tired of fighting."

"I miss you too." I said, smiling.

**A/N: Happy New Year guys! Sorry you waited so long for such a short chapter, but I wasn't sure how else I could continue the moment. I prefer to start a new day with a new chapter. So- a penny for your thoughts? What did you think? **

**PS- If there are any mistakes, I do apologize, I probably didn't notice it when I was reading over. **


	15. Le Big Fat Mess

**3396 words**

**A/N: Chapter 16, rated M for a bit of cursing. Bella and Alice spend some more time together! Enjoy!**

BPOV

I woke up the next morning in a pretty good mood. Edward and I had finally talked through everything. After we returned from our walk, we sat in the kitchen and talked for hours. We both saw where we went wrong, and we came to the mutual agreement that it was equally our fault. He, on the other hand playfully suggested that I had been too melodramatic. I suppose he was right and I did overreact just a bit. Maybe if I had been more mature about the whole situation we could have avoided it.

I wanted the three of us to go out and do something fun for the weekend, since I had school the following week. I had been thinking that perhaps we could've driven into the city and spend the day there, rather than staying cooped up in this little town. Alice had mentioned that she wanted us to look for a dress for me to where at Rosalie's wedding.

I had almost forgotten about that. Rosalie's wedding was in exactly two weeks. That meant that I had two weeks to find a dress and shoes, and two weeks to prepare myself to see Edward with his beloved _Tanya. _That was one topic that we steered clear of completely. I didn't want to hear about her and Edward wasn't going to talk about her lest I blow up again and go off on another tangent.

I was brought out of my thoughts by a soft knock on my door.

"Come in Alice, I'm decent." I knew it was Alice because there was a 100% chance that Edward was knocked out on his bed sleeping. He'd spent the remainder of the early morning moving his things to his room upstairs and watching TV.

"So Bella, anything you want to tell me about this morning?" I gave Alice a shy smile.

"Well, I did like you suggested and I went to talk to him in his room last night. Things got out of hand after a few minutes and each of us lost our cool. He said some mean things and I said them right back. I stormed out of his room, crying my eyes out, and about an hour later, we went for a walk."

Alice stared at me with a puzzled expression.

"After you stormed out of his room in tears, both of you went for a walk? Together?"

"Well, I felt really bad about what I told him, so I was going to apologize. I heard the front door close and when I went to see who it was; Edward was halfway down the street. I went to join him, to make sure he didn't do anything stupid."

"What could you possibly have said to him to make him so upset Bella?"

I was silent for awhile. So many things happened last night that I wasn't sure how to respond.

"Well, we were talking about the reason I didn't talk to him and how I fell in love with him and at the end of it all, he said he wanted an apology. So, I told him that I was sorry for shutting him out, for falling in love with him, and that I ever did, and that he couldn't seem to get past it. Then he told me that he couldn't find it in his heart to forgive me.

"The nail on the head is what I told him. I said that it was easy for him to forgive Tanya when she left him. Then I said that I wish I had never been the one the support him when he was still in the chair and I implied that he deserved to still be in it."

The look on Alice's face was priceless.

"I felt so horrible Alice! But he made me so angry. How could he say that he didn't forgive me, like what I did was so wrong? I had been there for him much longer than the two months I was away from him! Anyway, when I joined him on his walk, it really was to see if he was okay, I was still mad at him. Instead, I stayed with him and we talked. Now, we're good."

"It sounds like you guys had a really long night." Alice said. "I can't believe I fell asleep. I should've been outside the door eavesdropping."

I smiled. Of course she would try to find the humor in the situation.

"Hey Alice, I was thinking that maybe we could go into the city this weekend and just hang out. I've been saving my money, and we can go look for my dress for Rosalie's wedding."

"That's a great idea! We can spend the night in my parent's apartment. They use it when they're running errands in the area or when they have business to attend to in the city."

"Could you wake up Edward then?" I asked. "Ask him if he wants to come with us. I was hoping all three of us could go. Wait a minute, where did your parents sleep?"

"They left with Rosalie and Emmett. Mom wanted to help Rose with some last minute wedding stuff. I'm just a bridesmaid so I don't really have to do anything."

"Oh, well then, wake up Edward and let's get ready. We can have breakfast on the way.

I had finished getting ready and was sitting in the kitchen waiting for Alice when Edward came downstairs. He looked like he had just rolled out of bed, which wasn't such a bad look, honestly. However, Alice and I were supposed to leave in the next ten minutes and he wasn't even ready!

"Edward, we're supposed to leave here by ten o' clock. Why aren't you ready?" I asked.

"Well good morning to you too Bella. Alice and I already spoke. I won't be joining you girls today." He replied.

"Why not? It'll be fun. And you can carry our bags to and from the car." I added with a smile.

"As much as I would love to be your personal bag carrier, I'm going to stay home and rest. I'm pretty tired. But, I'll give you guys some money and-"

I cut him off right there. I didn't need Edward's money to shop anymore. I had more than enough money to buy all the things that I needed, even a pretty dress.

"I don't need or want your money Edward, but I would've appreciated your company." Edward looked torn as he looked at me.

"I'm sorry Bella, I just-"

"Come on Bella I'm ready." Alice came downstairs shouting. "Sorry I took so long, the flat iron took forever to heat up." As she noticed Edward's presence the two of them shared a look. I grew very suspicious of that look.

"Let's go Bella. You can drive for awhile. I'll take over when we reach further."

"Oh-kay then, Alice. See you later Edward, enjoy your rest." I said.

"As if." Alice muttered. "For the last time Bella let's go!" Alice was already out the door. I shrugged at Edward, he probably understood his sister more than I ever would.

As soon as I was buckled in the front seat, Alice started her rant.

"Unbelievable! My brother is such a big, fat, stupid unbelievable idiot! You'd think that his months of complaining about you not speaking to him, he'd jump every other opportunity for you guys to hang out!"

"It's okay Alice." I said. "I don't mind if he wants to stay home and rest."

"Is that what he told you?" Alice screamed. "He was planning to _stay home_ and _rest_? He's not going to do that! He's calling Jacob, to take him to Tanya's _fucking_ house, to see if she still _fucking_ lives there, so he can _fucking_ talk to her and _fucking_ bring her to the wedding!" By this time Alice was seething. She was more upset than I was.

"Wow. He's still calling Jacob? Why doesn't he take a cab? What a baby."

"That's what you got out of this Bella? That he isn't taking a cab? Edward lied to you, and he bailed on us to see his _fucking_, dried up ex-girlfriend."

Poor Alice. She must have really hated Tanya.

"There's nothing I can do about that Alice. He made it perfectly clear that he doesn't love me that way. I'm not going to fight for someone that's fighting for someone else."

Alice turned to glare at me.

"You're too much of a bloody martyr Bella. If you see something that you want, you're supposed to go get it. Don't just let it slip out of your hands. You went on a nice, romantic walk with Edward last night. If I were you, I would have seized the opportunity and kissed him. After that, I can assure you he would not have remembered who Tanya was."

"You would have kissed your own brother?" I joked. "No offense Ali, but that's pretty gross. Actually, that's incest."

Alice raised her eyebrow at me. I concentrated on the road while I drove. I was still learning to drive and I only had my permit. I was thinking of how best I could answer Alice.

"Alice, sweetie, I know that you probably like the idea of Edward and I becoming a couple, but I'm trying to forget that there was ever a possibility. Quite frankly, I don't like the idea of chasing after any guy. If all he wants is to be my friend, my _best _friend, then that's all that I'm going to be. I won't even get mad at him for lying to me about going to see Tanya, because that's his business. We spent too much time not talking and being mad at each other.

"This day was supposed to be relaxing and fun. If Edward's idea of "resting" is going to see Tanya, then so be it."

"Why are you giving up so easily Bella?"Alice whined.

"I gave up a long time ago Alice, so I don't get why you're still pushing this."

"Well, there's only one more thing we can do then." Alice said.

"What's that?" I asked.

"We need to have a really great day and find you a smoking hot dress for the wedding!"

"Hell yeah!" I agreed as we reached red light.

It was almost midday and I was already getting fed-up. Alice didn't like any of the dresses I liked, and vice versa. We were planning on getting a dress the same color as the bridesmaids, but I changed my mind. I didn't really want to blend with them.

"How about we go for lunch and then start afresh. That way, we can continue shopping without biting each other's heads off." Alice suggested.

"Yeah, whatever." I replied. I was too irritated to say much more.

We left the mall to put _Alice's _things in the car. I didn't buy anything, not even a pair of earrings. We decided to buy Chinese food, since we didn't really have anything for breakfast. While we were walking around the mall, I thought about what Alice had said about Edward going to see Tanya. While I was hurt that he felt he had to lie to me about going to see her, I couldn't really fault him. We still had a lot of work to do if we wanted to get back to where we were.

Quite frankly, I was willing to let bygones be bygones and just pretend I didn't know a thing. It would've been easier for me that way. Besides, Jacob was still my rebound guy.

"What has you so deep in thought Isabella?" Alice asked. I smirked at her use of my full name.

"I was remembering that Jacob is my rebound guy, you know, the guy I get to grind on for Rosalie's wedding. I'm telling you Alice, I'm just going to let loose and act like I have no behavior."

"Sure you are. I'll believe that when hell freezes over."

I was insulted. What made her think that I couldn't get down and dirty?

"I've seen it all in the movies Alice. I know how to dance, and I know how to _dirty _dance."

"Really?" She said, full on laughing at me now. "Please, enlighten me."

"It's pretty basic." I shrugged. "All you have to do is attach your behind firmly to your partner's crotch, and move it round and round in time to the music. Would you like a demonstration?" I asked, wiggling my eyebrows.

Alice wasn't paying attention. She was too busy laughing her ass of. I'm surprised she didn't choke on her pepper shrimp.

"I would love to see a demonstration Bella." She said in between her snickers. "We should go dancing next weekend. Bring your rebound guy!" She said as well before launching into another round of laughter.

I stared at her, showing just how none amused I was.

"I'm sorry for laughing Bells, its just, what you said and then your facial expression. It was like you were really getting into your "description". I would really love to see you on a dance floor. I wouldn't even need to drink to have a good time."

"Thanks for the encouragement." I replied sourly. "My confidence is now through the roof."

"Anytime Bella." She agreed.

When we were done with lunch, Alice suggested one more store we could try. All I wanted to do was go home and watch Big Bang Theory re-runs. However, Alice insisted that we would hit the Jackpot with this one. With just two weeks till the wedding, I couldn't object.

We headed into a cute little boutique located in a corner of the mall. It wasn't much, really, which explained why it looked like no-one ever shopped there. I already spotted a few dresses that I knew I would like. The question was whether Alice would like it too, and if I could afford it.

"Good afternoon. Welcome to Arlene's Boutique. How may I assist you today?" Alice and I looked up. We didn't really notice that there was a clerk in the store.

"Hi. We're looking for a dress for my friend here." Alice said, pointing at me. "It's for my brother's wedding. We need something smoking hot, to make someone very jealous and very sorry that they chose some other skank over her."

The clerk raised her brow in question.

"She's talking about her other brother, not the actual groom." I said quickly. I didn't need anyone judging me.

"Something smoking hot huh? Did you have a specific color in mind?" The clerk asked.

"Not really, I replied. I do know that it won't be appropriate for me to wear black or red or white. I just want to look great and feel confident, in case the "skank" looks hotter than I anticipated."

The store clerk nodded in understanding.

"Alright then. I just may have something in the back for you. Give me a minute or two."

"Sure." Alice nodded.

For about five minutes, Alice and I walked around the tiny boutique. Arlene had some pretty nice stuff in here. It was a pity that it was so far from all the mall traffic.

"How did you find this place Alice?" I asked.

"Last Christmas, when I came with Edward to shop, I got lost. My battery had died, so I couldn't call him or anything. I ended up roaming up and down the mall all day searching for him when I found this place. As it turned out, after half hour, Edward called Jacob and went home. On the bright side, I bought two very cute dresses for myself, courtesy Edward's credit card."

"How does Edward make money anyway?" I asked.

"After all the time you guys have spent together, you don't know how he makes money?" Alice rolled her eyes. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you did a lot more than talking."

Alice paused to smirk at my red face then continued.

"He has a sort of online business, which I'm sure you must have heard about sometime. He buys and sells stuff, basically. I don't know what he specializes in. Probably computer gadgets and fancy cell-phones, or vintage cars."

"Vintage cars?" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah. The tiny models that guys would just kill to have. Edward buys them, and then sells it over for a very hefty profit."

Arlene had come back with the dress by the time Alice finished talking. It was locked away in a garment bag so I couldn't see the color. When Arlene hung up the dress and unzipped the bag, Alice and I gasped in unison. The dress was perfect.

The color was somewhere between red wine and magenta. It wasn't quite red, but it wasn't pink either. It was a short dress, made from chiffon. It had two thin straps which joined at the back to form a long braid that went down to my waist. Other than that braid, the dress was backless. At the front, I assumed that there was a deep v-neck that would've probably reached my navel. The hem was a scissors cut, which would have fallen nicely at my knees, especially with the chiffon material. I was absolutely mesmerized.

It was a mixture of slutty, trashy, whore and classy, elegant, rich, beautiful heiress. Maybe it was the material that gave the dress its elegance.

"I'm judging by your silence and open jaw that you like the dress?" Arlene asked with a smile. Would you like to try it on?"

I nodded dumbly.

I was right about the dress. It was perfect, and it fit perfectly too. I had to admit. I looked pretty damn hot. I couldn't wait to have fun at the wedding with my rebound.

"This is the dress Bella. You look amazing." Alice agreed.

I turned to Arlene and let her know that I would be taking the dress. I didn't even want to take it off.

"How much is this, by the way?" I asked.

"It's four fifty, but I'll give it to you for three seventy five."

"Thanks!" I said, grateful that I didn't have to dig too deep into my savings.

"No problem. Good luck at the wedding. I can assure you that all eyes will be on you."

Alice and I smiled at Arlene and then left the store. Since we got the dress, it didn't take us long to find a pair of shoes and accessories. I decided to keep them simple. Alice and I chose a simple champagne colored pair of heels, with a clutch and jewelry to match. At the end of it all, I felt so accomplished.

After having some ice cream and doing a little more shopping, we decided to call it a day. Alice drove us over to her parent's apartment for us to get settled in.

"Are there any groceries in the apartment Alice? We could've stopped by a mini mart on our way over here."

"The cupboards are always stocked actually. My mom does groceries whenever they leave, so she won't have to buy anything when they come back. We just have to eat everything we put in the fridge by the end of the weekend, so that nothing spoils."

I was pretty satisfied with her answer. By the time we arrived, it was almost five pm. Alice pulled into the car park and we jumped out.

"Let me just unlock the door and then we can bring our things inside. Then you can try on your dress with the shoes and everything. I'm so excited!" Alice squealed.

When we entered the front door, we froze, and then looked at each other. We were now certain that we weren't imagining things and we were in fact hearing voices. Actually, it was more like giggles and soft rumblings. Alice seemed to have a look of recognition and rushed passed me into what looked like the kitchen. By then, her face had turned into a very angry shade of red.

Suddenly, the rumbling and giggling stopped.

"Alice, darling, it's so nice to-"

"What the fuck are you doing in my parent's apartment Tanya? Edward are you out of your fucking mind?"

That was all I needed to hear before I literally felt my heart break all over again.

**Dun dun dun….There you have it. This chapter didn't take too long to come out did it? Hope you guys enjoyed it!**

**Btw, I've changed a few of the earlier chapters, so pretty soon, you will be getting updates for chapter's that you've read before. You can read them over if you'd like. I improved and tweaked them just a bit. **

**Reviews are always appreciated**

**XOXO- Cakes **


	16. Giving Up

**Sorry I'm late. Rated M for some bad words and delicious lemons ;-)**

**BPOV**

To say that I was shocked was the understatement of the century. I wasn't expecting anything like this to happen. I had just assumed that if Edward did get through to Tanya, that he would have stayed at her house or take her for a burger or something. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to hear his voice _and _her voice in his parents' apartment, where Alice and I were spending the night.

Fate had a really bad sense of humor.

"Seriously Edward, of all the stupid things you've done this definitely made it into the top five!" Alice continued shouting. I wasn't sure if I should go join them yet. I decided to stay where I was and wait it out.

"Don't raise your voice at me Alice, and watch your language." Edward replied in a low voice.

"You've got a lot of nerve telling me to lower my voice. I'm not going to fucking lower my voice and I sure as fucking hell am not going to fucking watch my language! I am fucking pissed of that you blew off our day together to reconcile your relationship with that piece of shit!"

I assumed she was talking about Tanya.

"Alice that's enough!" Edward shouted.

Things got quiet for about two minutes. You could even here a pin drop. Soon enough, Edward spoke again.

"Why are you here Alice? I thought you guys would be going shopping and then going home. You didn't tell me you were coming here."

"I was going to call you as soon as I walked through the door." Alice replied acidly. "I guess I didn't have to."

"You should've said something anyway, Alice. I am your guardian." Edward replied.

"You're my brother Edward, so get off your fucking high horse. If I want to yell at you and curse at you, then I'm going to do it. You aren't mom or dad so my respect for you is conditional. As of this moment, my respect for you is non existent."

More silence followed. I assumed that they were having a staring match, or that Edward's eyes were closed and he was trying to control his anger. I was so glad that I wasn't Tanya. Alice was a bitch when she hated someone. I'd only experienced one quarter of her true potential. Alice _never _cursed at me.

"Is Bella here, Alice?" Edward asked.

"No, she's not. I forgot her in the mall. Of course she's here you knuckle head!"

Crap. I'd probably have to go and join them soon. Maybe I could just run back outside and sit in the car. Better yet, I could take the car and go for a drive. The car keys were in my hand. Now if I could just sneak outside without them hearing the door-"

"Bella, Edward wants to talk to you." Alice appeared in the doorway.

I took in her appearance. A few minutes ago, Alice was well put together, her hair was neatly combed back, her makeup was still intact and she looked pretty normal. Now, she just looked, well, frazzled.

"You were about to run away weren't you?" Alice asked with a small smile. "You might as well get it over with now. Don't worry about being nice to him; he's expecting your anger."

"What about Tanya?" I asked.

"Don't worry about her. After hearing me, she's pretty much silent. I doubt she'll have anything to say to you, especially with me nearby. Before you go, just fix your ponytail. You look fine otherwise, if that's what you're worried about."

I nodded at Alice, fixing my ponytail as she suggested. I worked to put a relaxed expression on my face. Edward knew that I was in love with him and he knew that meeting Tanya would make me very uncomfortable. Couldn't he wait until the wedding for me to meet her?

Alice must have sensed my distress by the expression on my face.

"Bella, you look like someone is leading you to your death. Do you want me to kick Tanya out?"

I had to laugh at her directness.

"No Alice, I'll be fine, but I can't let _Edward_ see that I'm _not _fine. I'll just have to suck it up and pretend that none of this bothers me. It's what he wants anyway."

"But it isn't fair Bella!" Alice whined. "You two have now gotten back on speaking terms. It's the least he could do by asking Tanya to leave the room."

"No." I shook my head. "If I do that, I'll look like a coward and she'll win. She may not know about Edward and me, but if I let you kick her out, I'll feel like she's won. I want to win!"

Alice smiled, pleased with my answer.

"Let's go then. Follow me."

In all honesty, I expected the apartment to be bigger, since the Cullen's' were rich and all. From the living room, there was a small corridor that led to the kitchen. Soon enough, we were there.

I saw Tanya first. She was perched atop a stool, around the island. She was much more normal than I had anticipated. She didn't look mean or bitchy or horrible. The way everyone had described her, I had thought that I was going to see a cold hearted witch with black eyes and a pointy hat. All I saw was a pretty woman with strawberry blonde hair, wearing a blue sundress, with a very worried frown on her face.

Edward was leaned up against the refrigerator. I had been right about what his expression might have been like. His eyes were closed, and his hands were rubbing circles around his temple. I made my presence known by clearing my throat. Both Edward and Tanya looked up at me. Unsurprisingly, she spoke first.

"You must be Bella!"She said enthusiastically. "Edward has told me so much about you. You've come a really long way from your previous life. To have escaped from that guy and go through that entire trauma! I'm surprised you're doing so well. My name is Tanya, as you may have guessed by now."

I ignored her outstretched hand. I wasn't doing it to be rude; I just didn't really see it because I was glaring at Edward. He had told her everything about me. That was none of her business. He sees the "love of his life" for the first time in almost two years and he tells her my life story? I trusted him with that information. Alice hardly knew half of it and she was one of my closest friends.

I really didn't want to be mad at him, not anymore. However, he had to know that he was wrong. I put as much venom into my glare as possible, before plastering on a charming smile and turning my attention back to Tanya.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Tanya. From what I've heard about you, I'm surprised Edward let you back into his life so easily. I guess when you're in love, you're in love." I turned around and marched straight past Alice. Not long after, she was following behind me.

I still had the car keys in my hand. I tossed them to her as we walked out the front door. We got into the car, slammed our doors, and drove off without saying a word.

So much for my relaxing weekend.

**EPOV**

I felt really bad about lying to Bella. However, I knew it would hurt her feelings if she knew what I was really going to do. The wedding was in two weeks. If I wanted Tanya back I had to move fast. I couldn't lie to Alice; she didn't believe me when I said I wanted to rest. However, she was _mad_ when she learned the truth.

Hopefully she wouldn't say anything to Bella. I had begged her not to.

I was so relieved that she and I were on speaking terms again. Hopefully, things would remain that way after she had met Tanya.

I called Jacob and told him what I wanted to do. He didn't ask any questions. I wasn't even sure if he knew about Bella and I, or rather how Bella had felt about me. He just came over, right on time, and took me to Tanya's house, which I had hoped she was still residing in.

To my utmost relief, Tanya was home at the same address I remembered. She was totally overwhelmed to see me. I didn't know if it was shock from just seeing my face, or shock that I was actually standing up on my two feet. I later learnt that it was both. She had invited me inside and we talked for hours.

I told her about Bella, and that she was a great influence on me being able to walk again. I didn't want to omit Bella from my life just because I had Tanya back. Tanya needed to know from the start that Bella was my friend, she wasn't going anywhere.

Tanya became more curious about Bella, so I told her about her past and how much she had grown. Tanya sympathized, saying how impressed she was with Bella's strength.

She told me that she was so sorry she had left me when I needed her, but that she hadn't known what to do. I told her that I still loved her and I wanted her back. Plain and simple. She could've said yes, or she could've said no. Luckily for me, she wanted me back too.

It happened so easy. I had to wonder if she would have said the same thing if I came over in my wheelchair. Would she have still wanted me if she saw my independence and my ability to do everything on my own, or would she have been just as turned off by it as she was two years ago? I forced the questions away. Tanya said yes.

We went for lunch in a little café close to Tanya's home, then to see a movie. I didn't really want to take her back home just yet, so I asked Jacob to swing by my parent's apartment to talk some more. If I knew that Alice and Bella were going to be there, I would have taken Tanya straight home.

Alice had apparently heard us, and no doubt recognized our voices. She rushed into the kitchen and stared daggers at me. Tanya seemed oblivious to the tension.

"Alice, darling, it's so nice to-"

"What the fuck are you doing in my parent's apartment Tanya? Edward are you out of your fucking mind?"

I was blown away. I don't remember ever having heard Alice curse, nevertheless at me. I told her to lower her voice and watch her language. I wasn't going to let her get out of hand on my watch.

"You've got a lot of nerve telling me to lower my voice. I'm not going to fucking lower my voice and I sure as fucking hell am not going to fucking watch my language! I am fucking pissed of that you blew off our day together to reconcile your relationship with that piece of shit!"

I couldn't let Alice continue. Tanya looked miserable. I brought her over here to have a nice, peaceful conversation and my crazy sister just storms in here and starts calling her names?

"Alice that's enough!" I shouted. I wanted to know where Bella was. Had she heard what went on? If she was in the apartment, then she probably would have. I was more concerned about her finding out that I had lied.

_She was going to kill me. _

Alice and I went back and fourth for awhile, and then I asked her to go get Bella. I had to apologize, before she went off ignoring me for another month and more.

As soon as Alice left I turned to Tanya.

"Babe I'm so sorry. I had no idea that Alice was going to be here. She just told me she was going shopping in the city and I-"

"It's okay Edward." Tanya stopped me. "Alice has every right to hate me after what I did. Don't worry, after she sees how happy I'm making you, she'll welcome me back. Bella will accept me too, if that's what you're worried about."

"She doesn't know I'm with you." I said, closing my eyes. "I was supposed to spend the day with her and Alice today, but I blew them off to come see you. Bella's going to be heartbroken when she found out I lied to her."

"Why would she be heartbroken?" Tanya questioned. "She doesn't have a thing for you does she?"

I didn't answer, opting to let my silence do the talking. I just leaned against the refrigerator and willed myself to relax. I didn't have long to relax before Bella came in.

"You must be Bella!" Tanya said. Her eagerness sounded forced. It didn't matter though, she was under enough pressure. "Edward has told me so much about you. You've come a really long way from your previous life. To have escaped from that guy and go through that entire trauma! I'm surprised you're doing so well. My name is Tanya, as you may have guessed by now."

I winced at the last part. Now Bella had two reasons to be mad at me. I lied to her and now I spilled all her dirty secrets to the one person she didn't know or trust. Great.

I could see the betrayal Bella felt when she looked up suddenly at me. I shouldn't have said anything. This time, I knew I messed up. Something changed in Bella's expression. Her eyes got a really mean glint as she turned to face Tanya.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Tanya. From what I've heard about you, I'm surprised Edward let you back into his life so easily. I guess when you're in love, you're in love."

I rubbed my hands over my face as Bella stalked out of the kitchen, wincing when I heard the door slam.

"I guess I have a lot of gifts to buy for everyone Edward. Even Bella hates me, and she's meeting me for the first time. Have you said something to her?"

"No. I didn't" I said truthfully. "On the other hand, the rest of my family doesn't think very highly of you, and they let Bella know it."

"Bella means a lot to you doesn't she?" Tanya asked.

"Yeah, she's one of the best things that happened to me since the accident." I said fondly.

"Will I have to compete with her for your affection? Tanya replied. "Because I already have to fight off Alice and Emmett and whoever else thinks I'm the devil incarnate."

"It'll be okay babe." I reassured her, wrapping my arms around her torso. "Let me take you home. I'll talk to Alice and Bella. They owe you an apology."

Tanya seemed to be content with my answer as she leaned into me.

"I just want things to go back to the way things were honey. I've missed you so much."

Something seemed off with Tanya's voice, but I brushed it aside, just feeling overjoyed to be with her again. I had everything I wanted in my life again, and I wasn't about to let anyone take it away form me.

I called Jacob quickly, who was in a bar nearby, to come get us. I thought I had heard two familiar voices nearby, but then again, it was a bar, everyone's voice sounded the same.

I dropped Tanya home, earning a soft peck on my cheek. I promised to call her as soon as everything was sorted out with the girls. I didn't even want to know what was facing me when I went home, but I braced myself, knowing that I had to expect the worst.

Jacob drove into the garage, not uttering a single word. It was when I was about to open the door that he spoke.

"How can you not see how wrong Tanya is for you man? Didn't you sense the insincerity in her voice? She's probably just stringing you along one more time to see just how stupid one person can be. Bella was right though. I'll give her that."

He turned of the ignition and got out of the car, pulling out the keys to his own car as he did so.

"What was Bella right about Jacob?" I asked, rushing out of the car to run after him. I had sat frozen in my seat for about five seconds after Jacob spoke.

"What did Bella say to you?" I said again.

"Why don't you just ask her Ed, since you guys are so close and all that. Later man, I gotta split."

"Jacob, come on, you gotta tell me!"

"Talk to her Edward" He shouted as he drove off.

I sighed, shoving my hands into my pockets as I walked to the front door. I needed to practice driving again. I don't think I ever really forgot, but since my legs were out of order for awhile, I figured I should practice before I did anything serious.

When I opened the front door, everything was eerily quiet. I expected to hear a television on, or music blasting from upstairs. Instead, I heard nothing. I called out to Alice and Bella, several times. I checked all the rooms in the house, twice. It was then that it dawned on me. Alice's car wasn't in the driveway, which meant that she wasn't even home.

I tried calling her cell-phone, but she was ignoring me. She let it ring once before sending it to voice mail. She was messing with me and I knew it. Alice always did that to get on my nerves. It didn't make sense calling Bella; If Alice was ignoring me then Bella probably would too. Judging by the expression that was on her face when she left my parent's apartment, it wasn't hard to guess that she loathed me.

I left Alice a voicemail after calling her for the seventh time. If she didn't return my call, she would be in big trouble. No matter how angry she was with me, I was her big brother and her safety and whereabouts were important to me.

I decided to try my luck and call Bella. She picked up on the third ring.

"What." She said acidly.

"Bella, it's Edward."

"Ya don't say? And here I was thinking it was the Easter Bunny. Hey Alice, you were right! Its not the Easter Bunny!"

I choked back a laugh. At least she was willing to make a joke out of it.

"Alright Bella, I guess I deserve that."

"No, Edward, you deserve a lot more than _that, _I just couldn't be bothered to spoil my good mood right now. Alice and I are at the apartment. We'll see you Sunday. Bye."

The dial tone came on, Bella was gone. At least I knew where they were. I was still going to take Alice's car away though. Maybe I'd use that to practice, while she took the bus to get around.

Bella was coming home on Sunday, which meant that I had a day and a half to figure out a way to grovel and beg for her forgiveness. A simple apology wouldn't do; not when I'd betrayed her trust like that. Sometimes I wonder if guys and girls were really capable of being _just _friends. From what I'd experienced, Bella and I had gone through emotional intensity equivalent to that of an actual couple.

_At least she was trying not to have feelings for me anymore. Feelings like that don't just go away. I would know. _

Alice and Bella came back late Sunday evening. I was in my room listening to music so I didn't hear the door open. It was only when Alice entered my room and tossed my car keys at her that I was alerted to their return.

"According to your voicemail, you wanted these." She said. She threw the keys hard at my head. It really hurt.

"Alice wait." I said, pulling out my headphones. "Where's Bella?"

"She's taking a shower and then she's going to bed. She has school in the morning you know."

"Just tell her I said goodnight, please?"

"Whatever Edward. We're both still pissed at you just so you know."

Alice slammed my door on her way out. It was bad when Bella wasn't speaking to me before, but I had Alice on my side. Now, Alice wasn't happy with me, Jacob was annoyed at me, and there was a possibility that Alice would tell Rose and Emmett too. With the wedding just two weeks away, I couldn't wait to hear what they though of my reunion with Tanya.

Soon enough, my wish came through when I heard Emmett banging down my door.

"Edward! Open this door right now!"

Excellent.

**Hello darlings. I know that some of you may be worried that Bella and Edward may never get together. Please bear with me; the storyline is already so far fetched that I'm trying to be as realistic as possible with this situation. Thanks for ALL the favorites, the alerts and the reviews! **

**Xoxo**

**Carly**


	17. Moving on

**A/N: Firstly, I apologize for the abundance of cursing in the previous chapter. It won't happen again. Secondly, I'm very sorry for taking so long to update. Thirdly, thank you for sticking with me, Edward and Bella, and their very odd friend-lationship. **

**Enjoy! **

BPOV

I was so upset with Edward. Just when I thought we were done with all the drama, something had to happen to cause us to be at odds with one another again. Maybe we weren't meant to be friends. I didn't want anything to do with him anymore. Alice spent the remainder of the weekend calming me down and we came up with a solution. I was getting out of Edward's life, at least for a while. I was going to move in with Jacob, give Edward every last cent that I had accumulated, and kiss his extravagant lifestyle goodbye.

After Alice and I left the apartment, we decided to go to a nearby bar. It was just our luck that Jacob happened to be there waiting for Edward. I ended up telling Jacob everything. I told him all about my past with Andre, how I'd come to live with Edward, how he asked me to pretend to be his girlfriend for the sake of his parents, only to have Alice find out. I told Jacob about how close Edward and I had become and how I had played an essential part in nursing Edward back to using his legs again. I let him know about how I had fallen head over heels in love with Edward, even though he was already smitten with someone else.

Jacob knew that Edward and I had fallen out during the course of his final rehabilitation and he knew about the final time we had made up and been on good terms.

While being away from Edward for the weekend, I had done a lot of thinking. Yes, I was incredibly angry at Edward, however, I always had to remember that he had taken me under his care voluntarily. No one asked him to do it, especially not me. I did not want to appear to be the ungrateful brat who did not appreciate all that Edward had done for me. I did appreciate it and I would always be grateful. However, I was tired of feeling like I was in his debt. I didn't like to feel as though I weren't allowed to be angry with him just because of what he did for me.

Jacob, Alice and I discussed a great deal while we were at the bar before Edward called Jacob to take him home. Alice and I talked about it even more when we returned to the apartment. I had told Jacob that Edward was a great guy, but he was destroying himself by holding on to the past. I didn't want to end up like that. I didn't want to hold on to Edward like he'd held on to Tanya. He wasn't mine to hold anyway.

Jacob and I agreed that I would be his room-mate for as long as I needed to, or until I had enough money to rent an apartment on my own. I would be paying one third of the rent, and be responsible for cleaning the apartment every other week. It sounded pretty fair to me, if anything, Jacob was being really generous. I was surprised he and Edward were cousins. They were so different, both physically and personality wise.

After a very relaxing weekend at the apartment, Alice and I needed to go back "home". I had an early class the next day, so all I wanted to do was sleep. While I was in my room, Alice was talking to Edward, but I'd paid it no mind. I already told her to brush off Edward because I did not want to speak with him. Before I went to the shower, I heard a knock at the front door. It was Emmett. As soon as I let him in he pulled me into a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry Bella. Alice called and told me what happened." He said.

"Hey Emmett." I replied. "Thanks for your concern but I'm really not in the mood to talk right now. I'll probably see you closer to the wedding. Alice is in her room though. Have a good night."

"I just hate that Edward is being so stubborn. He honestly blew you guys off to-

"I said I don't want to talk about it Emmett. I'm sorry."

Emmett just nodded grimly, to my utter delight, and headed in the direction of Edward's or Alice's bedroom. I was about to turn on my shower when I heard Emmett shouting at Edward to open his door.

"_Edward. Open this door right now!" _

I heard silence for a while, assuming that Edward was getting up to open the door.

"_What the hell is wrong with you Edward?" _Emmett shouted. _"Rosalie talked to you, I talked to you. Even Alice talked to you and you still wouldn't listen to any of us. Are you so idiotic that you'd allow Tanya back into your life to hurt you again? Do you know who's going to have to pick up the pieces when that happens again? We are! The same family you refused to listen to." _

There was silence again so Edward was probably speaking in hushed tones. Whatever he said either made Emmett shut up or speak quieter because I didn't hear anything again after that. After my shower, I packed my bag for my class the next day and fell into a dreamless sleep.

I had set my alarm for six am; one hour earlier than Edward usually woke up. My class was at eight thirty, so I had enough time to shower, get dressed and get out of the house. I did not want to see Edward, at all, so I figured waking up early was a small price to pay. By seven forty five I was ready to walk out the door, but something stopped me from venturing further than my room.

"Tanya, what are you doing here?" Edward's voice said.

"I figured I'd drop by and take you for an early breakfast!" She replied. She sounded awfully chipper for seven thirty in the morning.

"Well, I don't really want to go anywhere, so we can just eat here." Edward said.

They chatted idly for the next five minutes and I would have remained frozen in my spot when I realized that the longer I stayed there, the more awkward it would be when I eventually walked out. I put on my brave face and entered the kitchen, planning to only take a bottle of juice and an apple. I would have successfully made it out the back door without being seen but with my luck, Tanya and Edward chose that exact moment to enter the kitchen.

"Bella! How nice it is to see you again!" Tanya said.

"Tanya!" I replied matching her tone. "I wish I could say the same for you! Just when I was having a sunshiny day, a big black cloud just had to come and ruin everything!" I ignored the flash of irritation that crossed Edward's face and I smiled at Tanya as her face got red.

"Hopefully this is the last time we'll have to see each other Tanya. Goodbye!" I walked out the back door without glancing behind me. The morning was cool, just the way I liked it, so I could have taken my time and stroll to Lakeview. My phone vibrated in my pocket. I got a text.

_**That was a bit dramatic don't you think? You and I are going to have a serious talk when you get back.**_

_**Edward. **_

I rolled my eyes. Who did he think I was? His kid? When I "got back", the only thing I was going to do was pack all my bags so that I could be settled in at Jacob's by late afternoon. I would be collecting my paycheck from the library today, so all that was left to do was cash it and combine the money with what I had accumulated over the past few months. Then, I could stop feeling as though I OWED Edward my whole life.

As I walked to school, I had time to reflect. My weekend was all about trying not to be angry, and figuring out a way to take myself out of Edward's debt. Now, I wondered if we would ever be friends again. I could handle Edward being with someone that genuinely cared about him, but I couldn't handle him being with Tanya. That relationship was far too unhealthy. Edward was obsessed with someone for two years. Someone that couldn't even be bothered to set a 'get well' card now and again, but thought that it was okay to 'drop by' for breakfast early in the morning.

I knew that in my own way, I would always love Edward. We had a special bond. Unfortunately, I was going out of my way to break it. I didn't want to be there to watch Edward change from the brilliant person I knew. I didn't want to stay there to get hurt again and again. As I neared Lakeview, I noticed Jacob's car parked at the side of the road. He was leaning against his car door and smiled when he saw me coming.

"Hey there Bella! Alice said you were walking to school. I was hoping I could speak to you before you go to class?" He said.

"I have a few minutes to spare." I replied. "What's up?"

Jacob grinned at me.

"First of all, Bella, you've got balls. Edward called me, about five minutes ago, ranting about what you said to Tanya." Jacob's face then got serious. "Edward said, and I quote, 'Her behavior was unacceptable! For a mature young woman she has no sense of what is and isn't appropriate! I swear I wanted to slap her Jacob, especially after Tanya broke down and started crying about how she'll never be good enough for me.'"

I faltered. Never before, in all the time that I knew Edward, has he expressed any violent tendencies. I didn't know if I should be angry, afraid, hurt or surprised. I was probably feeling all of that. Then there was the part where Tanya started crying. Who the hell cares?

"Is that all you came here to tell me Jacob?" I whispered? "I don't want to be late for class."

"I was actually going to ask you if you'd like to skip class today and move over to my place a bit early."

"No, thank you." I replied. "I just want to attend all my classes this semester. It's already been paid for. I doubt I'll have enough money to finish afterwards." Reality was setting in. Edward had been covering all my expenses including food, clothes, books and school. I really needed to break my dependence on him.

Jacob nodded in understanding.

"Well, call me when you're ready okay?"

I shook my head and walked away slowly with my shoulders slumped. Whatever was left of my good mood was completely squished. With tears pooling up in my eyes, I typed out a message to Edward.

_**Lakeview isn't that far from your house. I'm in lecture hall one whenever you're ready to slap me.**_

_**Bella. **_

A reply came almost instantly.

_**Shit, you weren't supposed to hear about that Bella. I didn't mean it. I was just angry. I'm sorry if you are. **_

_**Edward. **_

That was his idea of an apology? Did he think I was going to forgive him that easily?

_**I hate you and I am moving out. I was your friend, not your child. **_

_**Bella. **_

After I sent that last text, my phone started ringing over and over again. Edward must have thought that he could have talked me out of it. I texted Alice and asked her to start packing my things for me so that I could just pick up my bags and leave. She heard what had happened from Jacob, so she agreed.

_**Edward is still my brother sweetie, despite the crap he's done. Hope you guys make up soon.**_

_**Alice**_

I didn't bother to reply. Alice was right. I could not expect her, Emmett or Rosalie to be on my side forever. Family was still family at the end of the day.

I went through the remainder of my classes, barely paying attention. I dreaded having to put even my toe into Edward's house. I walked over to the library to collect my check, and then headed to the cashier to cash it. Seven hundred and forty dollars, plus the two thousand dollars that I had put aside was barely enough to repay Edward, but it was better than nothing. I went to the campus book store after, looking for a thank you card. I picked the simplest one. I was not about to stand up and wonder which design Edward would like best. After I paid for the card, I signed it.

_Thank you for making me a better person. I wish we could've parted on better terms._

_Bella. _

I decided that I would call Jacob and ask him to drive me to Edward's house. For one thing, I was too exhausted to walk, and another, I just wanted to walk in, grab my things, and walk back out.

With the card I had for Edward in my hand, I waited for Jacob in at the front of the campus.

Jacob was silent on the drive home, not that there was much to say in five minutes. He just told me that Alice had already packed my bags and that they were waiting for me by the door. I noticed that he did not mention anything about Edward.

Jacob pulled into the driveway and told me that he'd wait in the car. I opened the front door and walked inside, hanging up my set of keys immediately. It's not like I had any intention of using it again. I saw my bags by the door like Jacob had said, but I still needed to get the rest of my money in my room. As I walked through the house, I didn't see, nor hear anyone. I would have thought that Alice would be there at least to see me off.

After I got the money from my room, I put it together with the card and my final paycheck. I was about to go back out to the car when I ran straight into Edward.

"Bella, hey." He said softly. I looked up at Edward and it seemed like he wasn't surprised to see my bags by the door. I didn't say anything as I handed Edward the envelope with the card and the money. I was hoping he would take it and not say anything, but with someone like Edward, I guess it was a wasted hope.

**EPOV**

I was still asleep when Tanya texted me to say she was outside my house. When I checked the time, it was sometime after seven. I wondered if Bella was awake. If Tanya wasn't outside and I had woken up on my own, I could have used that opportunity to speak to her.

Apparently Tanya didn't want me to have to face both Alice and Bella by myself this morning so she offered to take me for breakfast. Little did she know that Alice always sleeps in late and that Bella would have simply ignored me. What I was not prepared for was the way Bella behaved when she saw Tanya. That was the second time that she behaved like that with Tanya, and I didn't like it. Tanya hadn't done anything directly to Bella so the fact that she was acting like she was there since the first time Tanya and I were together really pissed me off.

Tanya burst into tears and she kept asking me if she would ever be good enough for me. After she left, I sent Bella a text letting her know that her behavior was unacceptable. Then I called Jacob to vent. He picked up after the second ring.

"Jacob, can you tell me what the hell has gotten into Bella? What did you and Alice say to her over the weekend to make her so rude and mean? Do you know what she said to Tanya this morning? After Tanya very kindly greeted her? She told her that she ruined her day and that she hoped she never saw her again! She compared the love of my life to a big bloody black cloud!"

I could have sworn that I heard Jacob cough back a laugh on the other side of the line.

"Do you have any idea how she made me feel Jacob? It's like she doesn't care at all about anything we've been through. I could've slapped her Jake I swear!"

There was an incredibly long pause after I said that and I immediately regretted it.

"Well Edward, I can't tell you how to manage your relationship with Bella, but I can tell you that wanting to slap her isn't the way to do it." Jacob didn't wait for me to reply, he just hung up the phone. Fifteen minutes later, a text from Bella came through on my phone.

_**Lakeview isn't that far from your house. I'm in lecture hall one whenever you're ready to slap me.**_

_**Bella. **_

Jacob told her what I said? What the hell was wrong with him! It's not like I had meant it. How many things did I have to apologize for now? It was not fair. I sent a reply instantly.

_**Shit, you weren't supposed to hear about that Bella. I didn't mean it. I was just angry. I'm sorry if you are. **_

_**Edward. **_

Bella didn't take long to reply again.

_**I hate you and I am moving out. I was your friend, not your child. **_

_**Bella. **_

Moving out? Because of something like this? Bella was being dramatic. I called her, over and over again, until I realized that she wasn't planning on taking my calls. Once again, I would have to wait for her to return home.

I stayed in my room for most of the morning, listening out for Alice. She came into my room mid-morning, in a surprisingly pleasant mood.

"Hi brother." She said. "How are you doing?"

She was being too nice. Something was definitely up. I cut right to the chase.

"What's going on Alice? Last night you were pissed off at me, today you're acting like a saint." I might have sounded a bit on edge, which was to be expected, especially after the morning I had.

"Bella is moving out Edward. She's going to live with Jacob."

"She told me, Alice. As a matter of fact, she texted me."

Alice looked so contrite when she heard my defeated tone and saw my wounded expression.

"Edward, I'm sorry that things got so out of hand over the weekend. It's just that Bella was really looking forward to spending time with you. Do you know that she was the only person who was on your side where Tanya was concerned? She didn't care what any of us said, she just wanted you to be happy.

"I'm sure you think that her anger was misplaced, but you _lied_ to her. If you had just said you made plans with Tanya for that day, she wouldn't have minded. Then, to make matters worse, you go and tell Tanya Bella's life-story. That was Bella's story to tell, Edward, not yours."

"Well when you put it like that," I started to say, "I guess I was wrong."

"Yes Edward, you were wrong. Bella had already decided that she was moving out since our conversation over the weekend. She's going to live with Jake for a while, until she can manage to rent an apartment of her own."

"Can't we talk her into staying Alice? I can't let her go, not like this. What if she never speaks to me again?"

"Edward, what you need to do is stop treating Bella like she's your _responsibility _or like she's your kid sister. She is an adult; she got herself a job at the campus library. Did you ever think to ask her if she'd like to make a contribution to the rent? Or if she wants to buy groceries? If you did any of that, then she wouldn't feel so indebted to you all the time."

I stayed silent. I had never considered any of this.

"Bella loves you Edward, at least she did, and she was willing to overlook all your faults just because she cared so much! She put all her feelings into this little black box, most of the time to just satisfy your ego or because she was embarrassed by the way she felt."

"Why didn't you tell me all of this _before _she decided to move out? She can't leave Alice. _I _need_ her._"

Alice shook her head.

"I think that it would do the both of you good if Bella didn't stay here for a while. For one thing, it tears her to pieces every time she sees you with Tanya and it pisses her off whenever Tanya acts as though they're best friends. Bella needs time apart from us, to see what it would be like to live in the 'real world'. We've sheltered her too much Edward. Sometimes she feels like a prisoner."

I sat and took in everything Alice told me. Bella wanting to live with Jacob, Bella feeling like she was a burden to me, Bella not telling me exactly how she felt. It almost made me cry. Bella and I had such a crazy relationship and we were so close. I loved her so much, but I wasn't in love with her. The way Alice spoke to me about Tanya made me question whether or not I was in love with her too.

The biggest matter at hand was that I needed to let Bella know that I supported whatever decision she made. I would give her as much time as she needed or wanted, so that when we met again, it would be on good terms. In that time, I would evaluate my relationship with her, my family and most importantly, Tanya. At the end of the day, I didn't want my family to fall apart just because of me. I was willing to put their happiness ahead of my own.

Alice left me alone to go pack Bella's things, and eventually, I went to help her. Alice protested when I'd tried putting some money into Bella's bag, and I relented. By midday, Bella's bags were packed and waiting for her by the front door.

I almost felt her presence before I heard her. She was being deliberately quiet, like she didn't want me to know that she was there. I saw Jacob waiting in the driveway, and I went out to speak to him.

"So, I've been a total jerk, and I regret that. Promise me you'll take care of Bella, and call me if anything goes wrong? I know that she wants her independence, but that doesn't mean she can't ask for help."

"I promise that if anything out of the ordinary happens, I will take care of it Edward. Bella needs time." Jacob replied.

"Why did you tell her that I wanted to slap her Jacob? You know I didn't mean it!"

Jacob shook his head.

"Then why did you say it, Edward?" Jacob looked directly at me, like he was challenging me to say more. I needed him to be on my side too, so I apologized and thanked him for offering Bella a place to stay.

When I went back inside, Bella was making her way out. I was going to ignore her, but somehow, I really wanted her to know that I was not angry, and that I supported her decision. I wanted her to know that I was behind her one hundred percent.

"Bella, hey.' I said. She didn't reply but she just handed me an envelope instead. She looked like she was just going to walk out so I stopped her.

"Bella, please wait." I pleaded. "Don't go yet." As I walked towards her I opened the envelope and saw a lot of hundred dollar bills. I very much wanted to protest about it, but then I remembered what Alice told me.

_Stop treating Bella like she's your responsibility. _

Bella turned around and looked at me, waiting for me to speak.

"I just wanted to tell you that I support your decision. I'm sorry if I ever made you feel as though you couldn't do anything on your own, but most importantly, I'm sorry that I hurt you. Can I at least have a hug, for old time's sake?" Bella looked hesitant, as though hugging me was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Please?" I begged. Bella nodded at me and I wasted no time in crushing her in a hug. I held her close to me, for about a minute, and it was only when I felt Bella's hands on my face that I realized I was crying.

She looked up at me, with water in her eyes as well, gave me a soft kiss, and walked out the door with her bags. When the door shut and I heard Jacob drive off, I burst into tears. Then I read the card that was in the envelope.

_Thank you for making me a better person. I wish we could've parted on better terms._

_Bella. _

I threw the card away from me, ran to my room, and slammed the door. I cried a lot that afternoon. I cried because I was wrong, I cried because I had hurt my family so many times, but mostly, I cried because I realized that I was in love with Bella and it was too late for me to do anything about it.

**A/N: So, that was a loaded chapter wasn't it? Once again, I apologize for making you all wait so long. Things are heating up and the story should end pretty soon. Let me know your thoughts on this chapter. Do you think everyone's emotions got a bit out of hand? **

**xoxo**

**Carly**


	18. I want to know what love is

**A/N: Happy belated birthday to CentauRita, I was inspired to get this chapter out just in time for you ;-). To the rest of my faithful and new readers, happy Monday, have an awesome and productive week! **

**Here's chapter 18-**** ENJOY! **

EPOV

Alice came out of her room shortly after Bella left. I heard her footsteps coming up to my door and I saw her shadow outside my room. I really appreciated that she left me alone instead of trying to comfort me. I didn't want to be comforted. I wanted Bella. Tanya called me too, but I wasn't in the mood to talk to her. How could I possibly want to talk to her when she was the reason behind everything? Maybe it wasn't fair for me to directly blame Tanya, since technically I used all my energy to get Tanya back into my life.

I basically moped around for the remainder of the day. I had some job application forms that I wanted to look at but I couldn't do it. I felt emotionally drained, I was tired and I felt sick. Alice told me that Bella texted her around six o'clock to let her know that she had settled in. Every time I thought about what had transpired, my heart ached. Then I start to feel really stupid for having such mushy feelings in the first place.

I felt slightly reassured that we had parted on somewhat good terms, although I was pretty certain that Bella was never going to speak to me again.

When I was done feeling sorry for myself, I called Emmett and Rosalie to tell them what had happened. They had already known about what transpired over the weekend at the apartment, but they didn't know about anything that happened after that. Their reactions were exactly what I had expected; Rosalie was understanding and sympathetic, and Emmett started yelling at me _again_. Like I wasn't in enough pain.

They both suggested that I use the time away from her to evaluate all the things I had done to push Bella away from me. I honestly did not know where to begin. When I came out of therapy, Bella and I had a lot of issues to sort through. Her new feelings for me, me not returning these feelings, her not speaking to me, me being pissed off at her because of it. We managed to get over it, but then I presented another problem. Tanya.

I shouldn't have gone after Tanya so soon after patching things up with Bella. As a matter of fact, I couldn't even understand why I would even want to do that, now that I admitted how much I loved her. Tanya should have been the furthest thing from my mind. Bella was hurt because I chose Tanya over her. Bella was always there for me, she'd always taken my side, she'd invested all of her trust in me, and what did I do? I broke her freaking heart.

When Bella first came into my life, I'll admit that she was a bit of a mess. I didn't exactly know what to make of her; I just knew that I had to protect her. I used all of my resources to make sure that Andre, the mad man she had run away from, never bothered her again. When I was sure that she was safe, I put everything I had into making her a better version of herself. She was already so smart; all I was doing was smoothing out the rough edges.

It didn't take very long for me to let my guard down around her, so we grew close pretty quickly. Every single time I remember something about her, I just can't believe it took me so long to realize that I was in love with her. I almost forgot how much she helped me during my therapy. She encouraged me through everything and she believed in me when no one else did. The amount of trust she put in me was unfathomable. She probably didn't trust me this much anymore.

Alice checks in on me to make sure that I'm okay. I'm usually always just okay. As the days passed by, I got stronger in my resolve to win her back. I just had to figure out how I was going to do that.

I started by calling her, but that didn't work. She didn't answer me. I tried blocking my phone number, I used Alice's phone, I used the land line phone, and I even tried using a pay phone. Every day it was the same thing until she just sent all her calls to voicemail.

I couldn't take it anymore. I had to see her, and I would stop at nothing to do it. She had to know how I felt.

"Alice, get your keys, we're going to bring Bella home." I said one morning.

Alice was sitting in the kitchen, reading through a magazine. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"I'm sorry; I thought you said that you were going to see Bella, when she specifically asked _not_ to see you. Leave her alone Edward, and stop trying to drag me into it."

"How else is she supposed to know that I love her?" I shouted.

Alice looked up in surprise. I guess I let that one slip.

"What did you say? You love her? Like a friend or-"

"Like I'm in love with her Alice! Do you really think I'd be going through all this trouble if I didn't?" I said. "Are you going to help me or not?"

"I can't believe you love her!" Alice said, squealing and clapping. "This is great! It happened a lot sooner than I expected. Anyway, she does not want to see you Edward; or me for that matter. Respect her privacy; we'll see her at the wedding."

I wasn't satisfied with that. I pestered Alice every day until she got fed up with me.

"Edward, you've been so busy blabbing about Bella that you seem to have forgotten that the day she left, she hated your stinking guts. Don't you think it would be wise to give her the space she asked for? If she's ready to see you, she'll reach out to you. For now, take my stupid advice and leave her alone. It's for your own good and for the sake of your relationship with her."

Alice reasoned with me for three days before I finally relented and listened to her. I still tried calling Bella every day though, not that she ever answered.

One day, when I was feeling especially depressed, the day after Emmett's bachelor party, Alice came downstairs to find me lying on the couch twirling a picture of Bella and myself in my hand. She held my cell phone out to me.

"You have a phone call, Edward." She said stonily.

"Is it Bella?" I asked hopefully.

"Of course not." She replied rolling her eyes.

"Then tell whoever it is to call back later." I retorted.

Alice searched my face, noting my blood shot eyes and the dark circles around them.

"She's my soul-mate, Alice, and she won't even pick up the phone."

"Tanya called for you Edward, again. What should I say to her?"

"Say whatever you want Alice. She's all yours."

"Edward-" she started,

"I do not want to speak to her Alice!" I practically shouted. "I want to speak to Bella. Nobody else" My voice cracked on the last word. Alice understood then, and she came over, kneeling down so that we'd be at the same level.

"First of all, you could have waited for me to hang up, Tanya can hear everything you're saying. Secondly, Bella will come around Edward. When she realizes how much she misses you, she'll start taking your calls. She won't call you herself, if that's what you're hoping. But if you let her sort through this on her own, without any interjection from you or me, she'll remember just how much we mean to her. How much _you_ mean to her."

"The wedding is in three days Alice and she'll be there. What are we going to say to her? Aren't you upset that she hasn't been speaking to you either?"

"She does speak to me Edward, we text occasionally. We just don't talk about anything remotely important, or about you."

I nodded, feeling slightly pacified.

"It's going to be okay Edward." Alice said. "You have everything going in your favour. You're getting rid of Tanya, you're incredibly sorry for what happened and you're willing to do anything to win back the woman you love."

"Here's what you should do." She continued. "Get a piece of paper, and write down exactly what you're going to say and do when you see Bella. You have three days to sort out everything you need. Now, I need to leave, Rose and I have a couple wedding details to sort through."

"I thought Bella was supposed to be involved in the wedding?" I asked

"Given the circumstances, Rosalie called her and said that it's okay if she didn't want to do it anymore. Bella is coming as a guest though, so she'll be there, for sure."

"Is she taking a date?" I asked

"Most likely it'll be Jacob, but he's in the bridal party too, remember?"

I did remember. I also remembered that I was planning to take Tanya to Rose and Emmett's wedding, and that when I was still in a wheelchair, my focus was getting back the use of my legs to walk down the aisle at his wedding, and to whisk Tanya away. I had accomplished what I set out to accomplish, but I still felt hollow. I already knew the reason behind that.

"Edward, when you miss me I'm gone." Alice said as she walked through the door. "And call Tanya and tell her to take a hike!"

Alice was right. I did need to speak with Tanya. I wasn't sure if I should just break things off coldly, or be gentle with her. She wasn't exactly gentle when she broke up with me, so I figured an eye for an eye might work in this scenario.

She picked up her phone on the first ring.

"I was beginning to think that you were avoiding me Edward. Then I hear you screaming at Alice that you don't want to talk to me. What the hell is going on?" She shouted.

"Tanya listen, I'm afraid we no longer have anything in common, as much as I thought we did. The point is that I'm no longer interested in pursuing a relationship with you."

"What the hell do you mean by that?" She yelled through the phone. "You came back for me, Edward. I didn't come looking for you. How can you seek me out, get me to fall for you again, and then break up with me, just like that, without any warning or good reason?"

"You did the same thing to me two years ago." I reminded her.

"That's what this is about? Revenge?" She screamed. "I didn't know what to do back then! I had a cripple boyfriend who did nothing but feel sorry for himself! This is about that Bella isn't it? I wonder if she was there from the beginning if she would have had 'the patience of a saint' as you so kindly put it?"

My headache was starting to come back with all the screaming she was doing. I needed to get her to calm the hell down.

"Tanya please calm down." I begged.

"Calm down! You call me in the middle of the day, out of the clear blue sky, to _break up _with me, and you're asking me to _calm down? _No, I will not calm down! You owe me an apology, Edward."

That stopped me. I tried to remember if she ever apologized to me for hurting me a few years back. She may have said she was sorry she gave up on me, but I don't think she ever said she was sorry for what her actions did to me.

"I'll apologize to you when you apologize to me." I said calmly.

"Oh go to hell Edward!" She snapped before hanging up the phone.

If she was the same person she was two years ago, she was probably throwing a tantrum wherever she was. I finally took care of that problem, now all I had to do was wait on Rose and Emmett's wedding day. I believed in myself. Things would work out, and I would win back Bella's heart.

Alice woke me up at the crack of dawn on the day of the wedding. I was just the best-man. Like Emmett, all I had to do was show up. According to Alice, however, I had to pick up my suit, buy breakfast, and drive over the hotel Emmett was staying at to offer "moral support".

I did drag myself out of bed, after locking Alice out of my room and sleeping for two more hours. By the time I showered, packed a bag, picked up my suit and waited in line for breakfast, Jacob was already at the hotel, trying to soothe a very emotional Emmett. I wished I was there to capture the moment on camera. A blubbering Emmett was something I would pay to see.

I finally arrived, with three foot long subways in my hand, ready to perform my official best man duties. I'd done a spectacular job so far. I planned Emmett's bachelor party, I went with him to pick out our suits, I booked a DJ for the reception, and now, I was bringing breakfast, with a smile on my face, when I would much rather be asleep.

"Hey there cry baby." I greeted Emmett. "Morning Jacob." I said

"Don't you 'morning Jacob' me, Edward. You should have been here two hours ago, not me."

"Yes, well, I ignored Alice, you didn't. Sorry man."

"Can the both of you shut up and give me my subway please?" Emmett growled. "Can't you see I'm a nervous wreck? The wedding is in four hours and I haven't showered, I haven't shaved and I can't find my cologne!"

Jacob and I shared a look and snickered.

"Sorry groom-zilla. Here's your seafood sub, just the way you like it." I chuckled.

Emmett returned my joke with a glare, challenging me to make fun of him after I was crying about Bella the week before. That shut me up.

The three of us spent the remainder of the day lounging by the pool and taking our time getting ready. Alice sent me updates every half hour, telling me how happy Bella looked. She was more carefree, talkative and excited. Alice seemed pretty sure that Bella would be receptive to what I had to say. I was both nervous and excited. As Emmett, Jacob and I stood in front the mirror adjusting our suits, I gave a mini speech.

"To happily ever afters' guys." I started. "Emmett today is your day. Rosalie is going to be your wife. All the best to you man."

"Aww come on, you're going to make me cry!" Emmett whined.

We all laughed as we made our way down to the limousine. Pretty soon, we were at the church.

From my spot, standing at the altar, I could see everyone that walked in. I was standing there for about ten minutes when Bella walked in. She looked absolutely resplendent in her navy blue dress, which seemed to move with her as she walked. Her hair fell in soft tendrils around her face and her makeup was soft, taking nothing away from her beauty. She was pure perfection. How couldn't I have seen it before?

As I continued to stare at her, she looked up to meet my gaze. I wouldn't say that her eyes hardened, but she didn't exactly look happy to see me either. As quickly as she looked at me, she looked away. When all the guests were seated and everyone had settled down, music started to play. Alice came down the aisle, flowed by Rosalie's best friend Irina. When they reached the altar, the wedding march started.

Rosalie came into view looking angelic in her white dress. As a guy, that was the only way I could've described a dress that my sister in law was wearing. Alice would later tell me that it was an A-line dress made by Vera Wang and that her bouquet consisted of white calla lilies. Like I was supposed to remember that.

The ceremony was really nice, but I was mostly looking forward to talking to Bella.

"Dearly beloved" the priest started. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Rosalie Hale and Emmett Cullen. These two people have expressed their desire to become one, in the form of holy matrimony."

When it was time for the vows, Jacob and I had a hard time keeping ourselves together. Emmett was crying, and Rosalie was wiping his tears with his handkerchief. The vows were said and the crowd burst into applause when they were pronounced man and wife. Jacob and I joined in wildly, using that opportunity to laugh at Emmett, while Alice and Irina glared at us.

We moved to walk back down the aisle behind the newlywed couple, but instead of walking with Irina, Jacob rushed over to Bella. She looked up at him and _smiled. _What made it worse was that it was a genuine smile.

Jacob was smart. He was using this time to move in on Bella. He may not have known how I felt about her, but pretty soon, he would have.

After the family photos were taken, the wedding party, along with our parents and close friends, arrived at the reception. It was already in full swing, with cocktails being served and waiters walking around with glasses of wine. Taking pictures was a very awkward ordeal. Bella had to stand next to me multiple times, and she was as stiff as a board. The photographer eventually sensed the tension between us and made her switch places with Alice.

I still didn't get an opportunity to talk with her.

The wedding party was seated around one table and Bella sat with Rosalie's college friends at the table next to ours. During the meal, I'd tried making polite conversation with her, complimenting her on how beautiful she looked, telling her how nice it was to see her. It was really annoying that she kept ignoring me, but welcomed the attention from Jacob, Alice, Emmett, Rosalie and everyone else but me. After the first two dances, Bella got up and I had no choice but to follow her.

"Bella, why won't you talk to me?" I asked as I ran after her.

"Edward, I left the table to get away from you. Please don't follow me." She replied.

On the bright side, at least she was speaking to me again.

"Come on, please? I really want to talk to you!" I begged.

"Out of all the people here, I'm sure that there are other people you want to talk to. Now go away." She still continued to walk away from me.

"Bella, honey, wait!" Bella spun around.

"Honey?" She spat with a mean glint in her eyes. "You've spent two weeks without me around and all of a sudden I'm your honey? I'm sorry Edward, but you don't get to call me that."

"Bella, come on!" I pleaded.

"Edward, I do not want to start any drama today. This is Emmett's and Rosalie's day. Stop trying to make everything about you!"

"Why are you making me beg and grovel so much? I told you that I was sorry, I told you that I made a mistake, I told you that I want you back in my life."

"Yeah, so?" She asked.

"Well." I started, "I was hoping that you would forgive me before I told you, I'm in love with you Bella. I am deeply and madly in love with you, and I want you to be mine."

If the situation wasn't so tense, I would have laughed at Bella's expression. It was comical. Her eyes opened wide, her mouth dropped open, her shoulders dropped and she just stared at me.

"What did you say?" She asked, not moving from where she was standing. I walked closer to her, making sure that she heard me loud and clear.

"I am incredibly, undoubtedly and undisputedly in love with you. I will not leave this wedding without you Bella. I came here for you, and I won't give up. No matter what you say to me right now, I'll never stop loving you, or needing you, or thinking about you." I took her hand and kissed it gently. "I'll never stop desiring you."

I stared directly into her eyes. I wasn't sure what to make of her expression. She seemed confused, afraid, and frantic even. I didn't see anything that might indicate that she still felt the same way about me. She'd spent the entire day avoiding me, and when I did get her attention, she was nothing short of hostile.

All Bella could have done was stare. She was in disbelief. I started to feel uncomfortable wondering if maybe my admission of love was a bit premature.

"What about Tanya?" she finally asked. "If I remember correctly, she's the love of your life, not me."

I shook my head, still holding her hand, smiling slightly.

"Tanya and I didn't work out. We _couldn't _work out because I was never in love with her. I was always in love with you, but I didn't want to admit it. I didn't want us to venture past the comfortable friendship we were in."

"Since the last time I saw you, your attitude has taken a complete one eighty. How do you go from wanting to slap me, to being in love with me, in just two weeks? What changed, Edward?"

"Why are you so apprehensive Bella?" I asked exasperatedly. "Don't you trust me?"

"Not really. No." She replied "I'm surprised I'm even speaking to you right now. My plan was to come here, show my face, then leave. I was hoping that you'd be so occupied with Tanya that you wouldn't even see me, or care that I was here."

"What can I do to make you believe me, to make you see how much I love you?" I probed.

"Can we please sit down Edward? I really wish we didn't have to have this conversation here, right now."

"Will you dance with me instead? Please?" I pleaded.

Bella nodded her acquiesce and allowed me to take her to the dance floor. Mariah Carey's "I want to know what love is" was being played.

"What kind of wedding song is this?" Bella laughed.

"Maybe it's dedicated to us." I murmured, looking up to meet the eyes of Emmett and Rosalie.

"Edward, this whole situation is messed up. I don't feel very comfortable, especially with Emmett and Rosalie over there making a joke about it through a song that has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me."

"How do you know that? In my life, there's been heartache, there's been pain, I already know what love is, but I want _you_ to show me. It really isn't that complicated when you think about it."

Bella blushed. I felt a little better, knowing that I'd gotten through to her on some level. She also remained silent, so I knew I had some talking to do.

"I've spent the past two weeks thinking of ways to win you back, Bella. I knew that when I saw you again, I couldn't waste any time. I knew that I would have to fight hard, and fast. Do you think I haven't noticed the way Jacob was looking at you today? He wants what I used to have, but I want it more. You and I have history. We _belong_ together.

"I have had so much time to reflect, so much time to figure out exactly what I wanted that it didn't take me long at all. Do you have any idea how many times Alice has had to stop me from going over to see you? Sneaking over when I knew Jacob wasn't at home, or heading over to Lakeview for a surprise visit? It wouldn't have taken much; Lakeview is so close to home. Alice had to remind me that I was the one that pushed you away and that every decision I had made regarding my relationship with you and my relationship with Tanya just put you in more and more pain."

Bella's eyes lost their defensiveness as she heard more and more of my confession. She was starting to open up, so I continued.

"When you walked out of my house two weeks ago, I was a wreck. It was the moment that I realized that I was in love with you, and yet, it was the moment that I realized that I'd lost you. I was crying all over the place, moping around and feeling sorry for myself. I called Emmett and Rose, asking for advice. Then they told me that I had to stop at nothing to win you back. Now, we stand here today, with me begging you for forgiveness and a second chance."

Bella smiled up at me, her eyes warm and expressive. We didn't break eye contact, not even as a new song started playing. Our bodies just moved in sync, neither of us wanting to our eyes off the other. Finally, Bella answered me.

"It sounds like you've done quite a lot of thinking, haven't you?" She said.

"Of course I have, so what's your answer?"

"You can't just spring something like this on me and expect me to answer you right away Edward. I had to wait almost a year for you. Do you think you can wait a few minutes?" She snapped at me before continuing.

"You need to understand that you broke my heart. You _hurt_ my feelings and you pissed me off. All the trust I once had for you flew out the window, so excuse me if I'm unable to just drop everything and run into your arms."

I nodded at her to continue.

"I've never stopped loving you Edward. My mom used to tell me that when you find someone you love, you aren't supposed to let them go. I had to let you go though, because you weren't willing to hold on to me. You didn't even want to hold on to our friendship. I started to feel like you were always bossing me around, treating me like I was a child. We have been through everything together. You know more about me than anyone in this world does. I hated you so much when I found out that you told Tanya about me. I hated the fact that she thought she could just waltz into your life after two years and just pretend that she was everyone's best friend.

"I hated that you let her behave that way and that you gave her an opportunity to walk all over your heart again. I refused to stick around to have my heart broken and yet still be the one to have to mend yours."

I remained silent, relishing in the feel of her soft skin against my body.

"Don't you see Edward? Maybe we aren't meant to be together at all. We just keep hurting each other. I am so emotionally spent that I do not want to know what love is, and I don't want anyone to show me. Especially not you."

What? No, this wasn't how this conversation was supposed to go. She was supposed to forgive me and give me a second chance. She wasn't supposed to say _no._ Bella wasn't doing anything I had expected her to do, and as a result, I had to do things that I wasn't planning to do either. I had to pull out all the stops, and _force her _to see why we made sense.

I did it quickly, so she wouldn't see it coming. Without any faltering or hesitation, I leaned down and I kissed her. At first, it was a soft, closed mouth kiss and with a lot of restraint on my part. Then I pulled back and kissed her once, twice, three times.

Her lips remained unresponsive to mine, although her eyes were closed. I continued to kiss her, intensifying it by trying to get her to open her mouth. I smiled against her lips when she finally opened her mouth and started to kiss me back. To say that it was heavenly was putting it mildly. It was out of this world. It was nothing like the first time I kissed her. This kiss was happy, joyous, _loving_. I gave her one last kiss before I pulled back, and cupped her face in my hands to look at her. She buried her face in my chest.

"I hate it when you're right." She murmured. "If you started with that kiss we wouldn't have needed to have such a long conversation."

I grinned at her, resting my chin against her head, swaying to the music. I couldn't believe it. I'd gotten what I came for. I needed to hear her say it though, for my peace of mind.

"I love you, Bella." I said into her ear.

"I love you too, Edward." She whispered. "More than you'll ever know."

**A/N: I bet none of you saw that coming did you? Well, I don't like drawing things out too long, and these guys have been at it for the past two chapters? Next chapter, they'll hash out the rest of their "issues". The story is winding down, only one more chapter followed by an epilogue. Tell me your thoughts on this chapter. I'm curious to know what you think about Bella and Edward's's reaction to everything! **

**Xoxo**

**Carly**


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